


How the Bloody Hell Is All Of This Possible?

by bafflethemwithbullshit



Series: Bloody Hell, we're in the 21st Century [1]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Captain Hill and Cartousa are endgame, F/M, Modern Day, My First AO3 Post, Time Travel, as well as Philinda, basically i'm making this up as I go along, not sure about TripSkye yet though, obvious swearing, or FitzSimmons, set in 2015, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3378548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bafflethemwithbullshit/pseuds/bafflethemwithbullshit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy and Daniel have traveled 70 years into the future to 2015, where S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken them in. Coulson's team has to find out what the hell happened and how the hell this is all possible. Peggy finds out Steve's alive and Howard had a son. So there are things less possible than time-travel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2015?

**Author's Note:**

> Set after the events of Peggy's arrest. Everything's cleared up, but it'll explain in the story. Philinda, Cartousa (I think that's what it's called) and Captain Hill is endgame but Steve and Peggy are reunited along the way. Let's see how this turns out, shall we?

"Bloody hell..." Peggy groaned as her eyes adjusted to the light coming from the ceiling. They seemed odd, brighter and whiter than usual. She blinked a few times, trying to focus on her surroundings. It looked like she was in a hospital room, but it was strange. There was a red medical logo on the glass door, and there were machines hooked up to her that made her heart rate jump, the machine beeping faster with it.

She sat up, ignoring the splitting headache that followed, and looked down at herself. She was wearing a white shirt with a black logo of a bird that reminded her of the SSR, whilst she was in black sweatpants that had a matching white logo on her hip.  
  
"You're awake," Peggy jumped at the low, cool voice, that would send shivers down anyone's spine. But Peggy wasn't anyone. She snapped her head up to the figure that sat in the chair in the corner of the room. She was Chinese, and had straight dark brown hair that fell like her own when it wasn't styled. She was wearing a simple black, v-neck t-shirt and black jeans - something Peggy figured she wore a lot of.  
  
"Where am I?" Peggy asked, trying to keep as calm as possible.  
  
"You're in a med pod on board a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane," the woman explained, her face and her body language didn't change from the rigid stance.  
  
Peggy frowned in confusion "A what plane?"  
  
The woman rose from her seat and stepped towards the bed slightly, clasping her hands behind her back "Agent Carter, what's the last thing you remember?"  
  
Peggy shook her head slightly and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall "It's a little blurry," the English woman said "But I was in the office with a coworker, I was on desk duty for a month and we both had the night shift at the SSR,"  
  
"What was the date?" the woman asked, her face completely unreadable.  
  
"March 9th, 1946," she replied "Why?"  
  
"Agent Carter, I'm Melinda May," she said "We found you unconscious in the middle of the French Alps,"  
  
"The French Alps?" Peggy's eyebrows rose so high she swore they must've reached her hairline "How the bloody hell did I get out there?"  
  
"That's the question we've been trying to answer, our scientists are on it now," May replied.  
  
"What about Daniel?" Peggy asked, her face filling with concern.  
  
"Agent Sousa is down the hall, he's still unconscious but he should be awake soon," May clarified "But there is one other thing..."  
  
Peggy gestured for her to continue and May seemed to hesitate before answering.  
  
"We're in 2015,"

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Jemma danced around the lab in pure joy "Peggy Carter is on the Bus!"  
  
"Jemma, please calm down," Fitz tried to reason with her, but no such luck.  
  
"Calm down?!" Jemma squeaked "There's no way I can calm down! Do you know what this means?"  
  
"Jem, I know this chick is badass and everything," Skye tried to cut in "But shouldn't you be trying to figure out how they got here from the 19-freaking-40's?"  
  
"Yes, we're trying to figure that out," Mack told her "But Jemma won't stop buzzing around the place,"  
  
As the doors opened, all four figures turned as Coulson walked in "FitzSimmons, where are we with the whole...time-traveling thing?" he asked. Being able to call them that again was one of the best things that'd happened all year. They were finally a team again, and everyone had felt like it was a breath of fresh air.  
  
"Well, we'd be able to figure it out sooner if Jemma would stop swooning over the woman in our med pod," Fitz clarified, rolling his eyes as Jemma stared at the screen with the picture of the woman in question.  
  
"Simmons, stop gawking and start working," Coulson said, snapping Jemma out of her daze "We need to figure out what the hell is going on," and with that he walked out, Skye hot on his tail.  
  
"So who's gonna talk to tall, dark and handsome in the other pod?" she asked.  
  
"Agent Carter will," Coulson replied.  
  
"What?" Skye frowned. Having one time-traveling agent talk to another time-traveling agent about the fact that they've been time-traveling didn't seem like the best idea.  
  
"He'll probably take the news better if it were to come from her," Coulson said as they walked up the flight fo stairs and towards the small huddle of agents in the control room "They'll both need something familiar,"  
  
"Oi, Coulson," Hunter said once they approached the holotable where the rest of the team were standing "Who exactly are these people? Why are they so important?"  
  
"You're kidding right?" Bobbi asked him "Peggy Carter is the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.,"  
  
"She served in the war with my grandfather," Trip clarified "She was there from the very beginning with Captain America, she even trained him,"  
  
Hunter let out a low whistle "What about the other guy?"  
  
"His SSR badge says that his name is Daniel Sousa," Skye said "I looked him up, he was one of the agents Carter brought with her to S.H.I.E.L.D."  
  
"Did FitzSimmons figure out how the hell they got here?" Bobbi asked, earning a shake of the head from Coulson and a smirk from Skye.  
  
"She's too busy being fawning over our guest," Skye snickered.

* * *

"2015?!" Peggy exclaimed as she paced the room "How in the _bloody hell_ is that possible?!" May didn't move, but Peggy could see the corner of her mouth twitch for only a split second but quickly recovered "May I please see Agent Sousa?"  
  
May hesitated for a moment before she nodded slightly and opening the door, leading her down the corridor. As they passed a couple of people in the hall, they stared at her in shock and awe, but both Peggy and May ignored it. When they reached another pod that was identical to the one they previously occupied, Peggy went straight to his bedside.  
  
"Do you know anything?" Peggy asked, staring down at the unconscious man in the bed. He was wearing exactly the same outfit she was, except obviously a men's size.  
  
"We're working on it," May replied, and Peggy nodded. May saw her gaze shift to give Sousa a once-over, but stopped on his leg - or missing one, then looked around the room "It's under the bed," Peggy glanced up at her before dropping her gaze back to the agent in the bed "I'll give you some privacy," she said, knowing that she part needed time to get her head around it, and part needed to be alone with Sousa "If you need anything, just press the blue button next to the bed,"   
  
Peggy nodded her thanks and May left the room quietly, leaving Peggy to her thoughts.  
  
2015? How the hell could that be? They were just in the office doing paperwork. Daniel was her babysitter. After running her own investigation on Leviathan to try and clear Stark's name, she was reprimanded to a month of desk duty. Everyone had been taking advantage of it, getting her to do things which they wouldn't normally get a chance to push her to do. She agreed that she went about it the wrong way, but she definitely didn't regret her actions. She wasn't going to let Howard die for something he never did.  
  
A small groan pulled her out of her thoughts, and she hadn't realized that she had sat down in the plastic chair next to the bed. She watched as Daniel started to stir, and forced herself to not reach out and grab his hand. His eyes fluttered open and made their way to Peggy's.  
  
"Daniel," she smiled at him and found himself smiling back at her slightly, before frowning.  
  
"Peggy?" he asked "Where are we?"  
  
"In a med pod, apparently," she shrugged, not really knowing how to explain it "We're on a plane,"  
  
That just confused him even more. He sat up and looked at her properly. She was wearing casual clothes and her hair fell naturally around her shoulders. She wasn't wearing makeup, and it felt weird him seeing her without her trademark red lipstick on. He'd always knows her to be beautiful, but seeing her in her natural beauty was something else entirely. He hadn't realized he'd been staring until she cocked her head to the side "Daniel? Are you alright?"  
  
He shook himself out of his trance and nodded "Yeah, I'm fine," he said and looked around, trying to avert his gaze from her at all costs "This looks strange,"  
  
Peggy couldn't help but laugh dryly, causing him to frown at her in confusion "Oh, Daniel," she said "Strange doesn't even _begin_ to cover what's going on,"

* * *

"What do you think they're saying?" Skye asked May as they watched the two on the small screen in Skye's hand. May didn't say anything, just shrugged and Skye continued to talk, not surprising to her SO "Do you think they've told each other that they're in love with one another yet?" May quirked an eyebrow at her as Skye lifted her head to look at her "What? Isn't it obvious?"  
  
May rolled her eyes with a small smirk on her face and shook her head "I think they're more concerned that they've traveled nearly seven decades into the future,"  
  
Skye nodded "Fair point," she said and looked back at the footage on the tablet "What do you think she's like?"  
  
May took a moment to answer "She's tough, and she has a heart of gold," she explained "She reminds me of you, actually," Skye looked up at her supervising officer as she continued "Her fighting style isn't like mine or Romanov's,"  
  
"What's it like then?" Skye asked her.  
  
May contemplated what to say before finally deciding on "Basically, she just beats the shit out of people with her hands or any object she can get in her grasp," she deadpanned.  
  
Skye let out a bark of laughter before raising an eyebrow "You got this out of the brief conversation you had with her?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Then how...?"  
  
"She was my S.O."


	2. He's Alive?

"Are you alright?" Peggy asked Daniel after a few minutes of silence.  
  
"I, uh, I...just...don't know..." he trailed off, not being able to speak "How?"  
  
Peggy shrugged slightly "I have no idea," she replied and bent down to retrieve Daniel's leg and crutch from under the bed "Would you like to find out what the future's like?" she asked, a small glint in her eye.  
  
"Abso-frickin-lutely," he replied and tossed the sheets off from him legs and strapped on his prosthetic. Peggy didn't bother to help, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated, and she and Daniel were just getting back to normal. Steadying his crutch on the ground, she watched as he levered himself up with ease.  
  
They walked out into the corridor and turned to where they could see another room. It wasn't so much of a room as it was a cargo ramp which help two cars, and a gym. As they walked further in they turned to see a laboratory with three people standing around a large screen, debating something. One of them looked up, a girl, and her eyes went wide whilst her jaw dropped open. Everything else ceased to exist.  
  
Peggy had no idea whether it was because they had just time-traveled, or it was something else, but she couldn't help but be amazed at the technology "Crikey O'Riley," she breathed as she saw the holograms and the large LCD screens.  
  
"Jesus Christ," Daniel said at the same time "What the hell is this place?"  
  
"Agents," they heard from above. They looked up to see a man in a suit, standing at the railing with a smile on his face "If you'd like to follow me," he said and gestured to the spiral stairs.  
  
Peggy glanced at the stairs and then at Daniel, questioningly, only to receive a shrug before walking past her to the staircase. The staircase was steep and Peggy wondered how he would go with it, but Daniel just hopped up on one leg. Peggy couldn't help but laugh as they reached the top step, making him turn around and face her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Something funny, Agent Carter?" he asked, but she saw the amusement all over his face.  
  
Peggy shook her head innocently "No, Agent Sousa, I've always wanted to see a grown man hop his way up a flight of spiral stairs," she replied. Daniel tried his best to hide the smile that threatened to take over his face, but failed miserably and turned to follow the agent.  
  
"Agent Carter, Agent Sousa," the man said and stuck out his hand for them to shake "My name's Phil Coulson, I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,"  
  
"What's this S.H.I.E.L.D. we keep hearing about?" Daniel asked.  
  
"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," he explained.  
  
"That's a mouthful," said Peggy.  
  
Phil almost laughed at that "Well, you should know," he started "You were the original me,"  
  
Peggy's eyebrows rose for what felt like the hundredth time since she'd been there "Me?"  
  
Phil nodded "You built us from the ground up," he said and looked at Daniel "And you were her right-hand man,"  
  
Daniel and Peggy looked at each other before looking back at Coulson who had turned and started walking, making them fall in step with him "We're a covert government agency that deals with the...unknown,"  
  
"The unknown?" Daniel rained an eyebrow.  
  
"People with special abilities," said Phil "After Steve Rogers was turned into _Captain_ Rogers, the world started to change. Everyone was trying to create their own breed of super soldier, trying to be the next Red Skull," he explained and turned off into a room with a group of other people. Every one of the agents looked in awe and stood up in respect, standing tall and professional "Director Carter, Deputy Director Sousa, these are our best agents: Antoine Triplett, Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, you've already met May, and Skye,"  
  
"Skye?" Daniel asked "Just Skye?"  
  
Skye shrugged "Better than Mary Sue-Poots,"  
  
Peggy raised an eyebrow before grinning slightly at the girl and turned to Trip "You look so familiar,"  
  
"My grandfather was one of the Howling Commandos," he explained.  
  
"Your grandfather is Gabe Jones?" Peggy asked, a small smile resting on her face.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he nodded "He talked very highly of you,"  
  
Peggy nodded her gratitude to him before looking up and around at the technology "Do you think Howard was involved?"  
  
"Howard Stark?" Phil asked, earning a nod "He and Tony have been involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. since the beginning,"  
  
Peggy cocked her head slightly to the left "Tony?"  
  
"Tony Stark," Skye explained "Billionaire, brilliant, weapons dealer,"  
  
"Howard had a son?" Peggy asked incredulously "Well, I'm not surprised, really. With the love-life Howard lead, there's probably a few dozen Starks running around,"  
  
Everyone snickered and Daniel looked over at her fondly, a smile on his face.  
  
"This may be a bad time to bring this up, but there's something we need to discuss," May said "It's about Captain Rogers,"

* * *

May had lead Peggy into the control room, whilst Phil took everyone down to the lab where Mack and FitzSimmons were most probably arguing.  
  
"Agent May, Captain Rogers has been dead for seventy years, why is it necessary to bring it up now?" Peggy asked her. There was no irritation in her voice, it was just a question. Talking about Steve didn't seem to hurt anymore, and she finally felt like she could move on.  
  
"Director, I've known you for a long time," May said "I know you better than you know yourself,"  
  
Peggy looked at her confused but May didn't elaborate, she only changed the subject "Captain Rogers didn't die in the plane crash, Peggy," May said "He was only frozen,"  
  
"That's not possible," Peggy shook her head.  
  
"Really?" May raised an eyebrow at her "You're seventy years in the future and you think _that's_ impossible?"  
  
Peggy shook her head again "Agent May, I was talking to him when he died, I was there,"  
  
May didn't try an convince her with words, because she knew she wouldn't budge. So she opened the file called 'Avengers Initiative'. She played footage from the battle of New York, where Steve was fighting off the Chitauri with his red, white and blue, vibranium shield that Peggy explicitly remembers shooting 4 times.  
  
Peggy's eyes widened and she took a step closer to the screen "Oh my God," she breathed "Steve's alive?"  
  
May nodded "He, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark and what we call the Avengers Initiative," she explained "They each have a...specific skill set,"  
  
"Like?" Peggy asked.  
  
"Well, we have a billionaire in a flying metal suit, a super soldier with a shield, a scientist that turns into an angry green monster, a Russian assassin, an archer and a God," Peggy raised an eyebrow at her "He's not from around here, where he comes from is actually the origin of the Tesseract,"  
  
"What happened to the Tesseract?" asked Peggy, frowning slightly at it's mention.  
  
May swiped through the photos to demonstrate "Thor's brother Loki wanted it's power to rule Earth," Yet again, Peggy raised an eyebrow at her, earning a shrug "He brought an alien invasion and the Avengers along with S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to destroy them." she explained "Once it was all over and Loki was in custody, they took it back to Asgard and locked it away,"  
  
"I take it Asgard is some other planet," Peggy said.  
  
"In layman's terms," May clarified "Last year, S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated,"  
  
"By who?" Peggy asked, but she sensed May's hesitation, which made her frown.  
  
"...HYDRA,"  
  
"You can't be serious,"  
  
"HYDRA had been rising through the ranks for years," said May "As far up as the World Security Council," Peggy gave her a look which made her elaborate "They're the guys who keep the division in line," Peggy nodded in understanding and turned back to the screen which showed footage of the fall of the Triskellion "HYDRA hit us hard, and they're still out there,"  
  
"Bloody Nora," Peggy said as she watched the hellicarrier crash right through the Triskellion.  
  
"Now it's just us," said May.  
  
"What about Steve?" Peggy asked "What exactly is he doing?"  
  
"Currently," May started "He and the rest of the Avengers are living in the Stark Tower in New York,"  
  
"Take me there,"

* * *

"So how long have you and Carter been dating?" Skye asked Daniel as they walked toward the lounge area. They'd just been talking with FitSimmons and Mack (well FitzSimmons were yelling at each other and Mack was yelling at them) and decided to leave them alone.  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked and almost tripped over his crutch "Me and Peg-Carter?" he asked "No-no, no Carter wouldn't-that's not-"  
  
Skye let out a small laugh "Woah, I was just playin', Macho," she said "But I definitely think you should,"  
  
"I-uh-yeah, that's not-" he kept stuttering, and he was pretty sure his face was as red as a beetroot by now "Skye, you seem like a sweet gal," he said, his 1940s persona coming out "But no one's gonna trade in a red, white and blue shield, for an aluminum crutch," he remembered the conversation with Krzeminski before he was killed. He hated that guy, but he didn't deserve to die - not like that.  
  
"Agent Sousa," Skye said "I watched when Agent Carter went to check up on you in the med pod," she started "The look on her face when she saw you lying in that bed..." she shook her head "Give a girl a little credit, I don't think she's that shallow,"

* * *

"How long have I known you?" Peggy asked May as they walked towards the cockpit. May needed to land the plane, but Peggy wanted answers.  
  
"My whole life," said May as they stepped in the small room and took the seats, May putting on the headpiece "You and my mother were allys - friends - she worked in the CIA, you were starting S.H.I.E.L.D., when I was born you became my godmother," May smirked at the look on Peggy's face "When I got old enough, you and my mother started a battle of whose agency I would join. You won, of course. You always did,"  
  
"And now you're Deputy Director,"  
  
"What makes you say that?" May asked, but she already knew Peggy had an answer for her.  
  
"Well, you and Director Coulson are obviously in sync," she started "He refers to you as an equal even though he is the highest ranked, and he has a lot of respect for you,"  
  
"I should'a known that was coming," May said, never taking her eyes off the sky "I always wondered what you were like in your younger days, turns out you're exactly the same,"  
  
"What, are you disappointed?" Peggy asked a small grin gracing her features.  
  
May smirked and flicked a few switches "Never,"

* * *

"We call it the Playground," said Coulson as they all walked down the open ramp.  
  
"It's our new headquarters now that the Triskellion is now a pile of rubble," Bobbi explained "No one knows we're here,"  
  
Peggy and Daniel looked around at the enormous warehouse-looking headquarters and the rest of the agents that were left behind were looking at them.  
  
"Tell me something, if we're here in the future, and we stay in the future..." Daniel started "Doesn't this all disappear?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked him.  
  
"Well if we're here, then we're not in 1946 doing whatever needs to be done to create S.H.I.E.L.D." Peggy elaborated.  
  
Jemma skipped up beside them "Yes-well-erm, we're still trying to figure that out, Director," she said, jittery with butterflies and a nervous smile on her face. May and Skye looked over at each other and shared a smirk, whilst Trip just chuckled at her.  
  
"FitzSimmons are our best scientists," said Coulson.  
  
Daniel looked over at the young scientists then back to Coulson "You refer to them as one person?"  
  
Phil shrugged "Jemma's a Biochemist, Fitz is a rocket scientist, apart they may be geniuses in their own right, but together they become a machine," he replied, quiet enough for only Daniel and Trip to hear.  
  
"How old are you?" Peggy asked Jemma, who was still practically skipping.  
  
"25," Jemma said.  
  
Peggy cocked her head to the side as she spoke to her "Why join S.H.I.E.L.D.?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, you're quite _clearly_ very smart, you could have done whatever you wanted to do..." Peggy started "Why choose to work for a covert government agency that you can't tell anyone about?"  
  
Everyone looked over at Jemma as she thought of a response "Well...I was 17 with 2 PhDs," Jemma shrugged, coming down from her high as she spoke. Peggy was impressed by the girl already "I had no idea what I wanted to do. I didn't like the idea of studying for the next 12 years or being stuck behind a desk diagnosing people with the common cold," Jemma sighed "Science has been my life for a long as I could read, joining S.H.I.E.L.D. allowed me to explore the universe which the rest of the world never even knew existed,"  
  
Peggy gave a warm, proud smile which made the young girl blush and avert her gaze. She couldn't deny that the world had changed, but even more so for society's expectations.


	3. Damn

"This is so frickin weird," Daniel said as they all sat in the common area. Everything was different. There were women everywhere. And though Daniel had never had doubts about Peggy's ability as an agent, he never expected for society to grow this much.  
  
"Tell me, did Howard ever get those hover cars working?" Peggy asked them as they sat around eating.   
  
"Hover cars are scientifically impossible, there's no way any technology can hover the mass of a vehicle," Fitz said before he took a chunk out of his burger.  
  
"Can you imagine if hover cars existed?" Skye chuckled "Screw a Chitauri invasion, that'd be the end of the world for sure,"  
  
"How close was Stark?" May asked Peggy.  
  
Peggy smirked slightly "Howard believed that he could get every car off the ground by 1946," she replied "But the last time he tried it was at the Stark expo in 1943, he managed to get it off the ground, but only for a few seconds before it sparked and crashed back onto the stage,"  
  
"I remember goin' to that expo," Daniel said "I'd just been enlisted, so I went out with a couple buddies," he then looked down at his legs "Of course, back then I had two of these,"  
  
"Why don't you get Stark to build you a prosthesis?" Coulson asked "You'd be amazed at what they can do these days,"  
  
May snorted "You should know,"  
  
Skye choked on the food in her mouth and started coughing, whilst Phil just glared at her venomlessly.  
  
"Are we missing something?" Peggy asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.  
  
"Coulson died for like 3 days," Skye said once her breathing was under control "They brought him back to life,"  
  
"That's imp-never mind," Peggy stops herself because everything she's seen and heard so far has been impossible. The other agents smirk to themselves and they sit in silence for a moment before Skye snaps her fingers loudly, catching everyone off guard.  
  
"Let's go shopping!" she yells excitedly.  
  
May rolls her eyes "No,"  
  
Skye sags and sticks her bottom lips out as she whines like a child "Why?" she draws out the word like she's five.  
  
"Because we have work to do," May replies.  
  
"Come on, May, please?" Skye begs, grabbing her forearm and bouncing up and down "We can take these fossils to see the city, and show them what the real world is like,"  
  
"Did you just call us fossils?" Daniel asked frowning.  
  
"I'm twenty seven," Peggy deadpanned.  
  
"Well, technically that makes you ninety six," Trip perks up "So I wouldn't hold your breath that Skye won't make old jokes,"  
  
Skye rolled her eyes "Whatever, they can't stay in S.H.I.E.L.D. clothes, that makes them a target," she told her SO "And I'm not allowed to walk around in sweatpants all day so why should they?" she asked folding her arms over her chest.  
  
May sighed and rolled her eyes once again "Fine," she said defeated "But, sorry Simmons, you'll have to stay here," she turned to the young scientist that looked dejected, but nodded anyway.  
  
"I understand," she replied quietly "Fitz and I will be working in the lab," she said and walked off towards the lab, Fitz following her with a shrug.  
  
"Poor kid," Trip shook his head with a sigh.  
  
"What was that about?" asked Daniel as they watched the two disappear.  
  
"Carter is Jemma's idol," May explained "You should've seen her face when we found the original SSR files," Peggy looked surprised at that, and found herself feeling somewhat proud to know that she'd become a strong leader "Skye, go find them clothes and then we'll go,"  
  
Skye let out a high pitched noise that May flinched at "You're the best SO ever!" she exclaimed as she pulled Peggy up by the wrist, basically yanking her out of the chair she was in and dragging her up the staircase.  
  
"Where are we going?" Peggy asked as she leaped to cath up with her, buut Skye never let go of her wrist. Skye reminded her so much of Angie. Her youthful energy and spirit resembled the waitress so closely that, if she didn't know any better, she would think they're the same person.  
  
"To get you some clothes, you can't go outside in those and I have the perfect outfit for you," Skye beamed at her and Peggy couldn't help but smile at her excitement.

* * *

"Everything is so different," Peggy looked up at the buildings and billboards around Times Square. Everything was technological now, even signs apparently. She, Skye and May had gone off whilst Trip and Hunter took Daniel to get some clothes. Peggy suspected they'd be a lot more efficient.  
  
"Welcome to the 21st Century," Skye smiled and lead her into a multitude of clothing outlets. The fashion now was unlike anything Peggy had ever seen before. There were girls wearing short denim shorts or skirts just as short. There were teenage boys with their pants so low you could see their underwear.  
  
"Not everyone dresses like those morons, by the way," Skye said as she grabbed a whole heap of clothes off the racks and passing them to her "Those were just twelvies trying to be cool,"  
  
"Twelvies?"  
  
"Twelve year olds," May clarified.  
  
"Ah," Peggy nodded in understanding as Skye kept passing clothes to her.  
  
They were in that shop alone for half an hour, and Peggy was getting tired of this whole shopping thing real easy. Angie tried to get her to go shopping once, and it was the last time Peggy ever wanted to do it. But here she was. In 2015, shopping with people she met 5 hours ago, from an organization she apparently founded.  
  
The surprising thing was, she actually found clothes she liked. It was refreshing from the pencil skirts and the power suits she wore all the time. May didn't contribute much, Peggy's guess was that she hated shopping as much as she did. But Skye had an eye for fashion apparently, and she'd found Peggy clothes that she never would've picked out fir herself.  
  
They were mostly jeans and different blouses, along with a few dresses and skirts that were a little shorter than what she was used to. Skye told her that it would be a shame to waste her legs under long skirts and pants. That, too, reminded her of Angie.  
  
"So, what's the deal with you and Sousa?" Skye asked after they started walking down the street.  
  
"We're colleagues," said Peggy "...not so sure about friends anymore,"  
  
"Why's that?" Skye probed.  
  
"Skye..." May warned her but Peggy cut her off.  
  
"No, it's okay," she said "Well, to put it quite simply, I was arrested for treason,"  
  
"YOU _WHAT?!_ " Skye yelled and looked over at May who just smirked slightly. Obviously she'd heard this story before "Why?"  
  
Peggy shrugged "It's a long story, but basically I was working against the SSR to clear Howard's name for the exact same charge,"  
  
"Sounds like a story," said Skye with a slight smile "But you two are okay now?"  
  
Peggy sighed "I don't know yet...hopefully,"  
  
Skye was tempted to tell her about his crush, but considering they were still just working on their friendship and trust, she decided against it. As they continued down the street, a bark of laughter pulled their attention away from the conversation and towards the group of people walking out of a restaurant. The sun had set and the streets had been lit up with the New York City lights that Peggy never remembered them to be. As they continued down the footpath, they heard whistling from across the street, followed by crude, sexist comments.  
  
Skye and May rolled their eyes whilst Peggy sighed slightly "Well, I guess some things never change,"  
  
"You mean men?" May asked rhetorically "Yeah, they're still weak,"  
  
Peggy and Skye grinned at her as they walked back to the unmarked SUV on the curb of the street. As Peggy opened the door, she looked up to see a tall building with a a familiar name in lights, and paused in her tracks.  
  
"Is that it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
May followed her eye line and replied "Yeah, that's it,"  
  
Peggy nodded slightly before getting in the car and closing the door, trying to slow her heart rate down. Steve was a mere mile away in the tower of someone else she'd probably met before, and he didn't know she was here. He was alive. And she was here.

* * *

"We can take you there tomorrow," said May after Skye had walked off with her shopping bags back to her room. They stood by the SUV alone and the warehouse seemed pretty empty, as if everyone had gone to bed already. Although, as May glanced at the clock before she had cut the engine, she saw it was already past midnight and they were all pretty exhausted.  
  
Peggy looked over at May and nodded "Thank you," she said quietly, earning a simple nod in return as they started for the staircase "Did I ever talk about him?" she asked after a few moments of silence.  
  
"A few times," May said simply.  
  
"It's been nearly two years," said Peggy "You know, after Steve died and everyone found out who I was to him, the SSR kept me on for pity," she shook her head "It was like they forgot I was right there beside him, fighting with him, training him,"  
  
"Because you're a woman,"  
  
"Yes,"  
  
As they ascended the staircase, May guided her to one of the spare rooms "If you need anything, I'll be three doors down on the right," she said and gestured to her room before she changed the topic "Peggy, I've seen you in action," she said "Hell, you taught me everything I know," Peggy seemed to smile slightly at that "Don't ever doubt your ability because you work with a bunch of misogynistic assholes who wouldn't know their asses from their faces," a small smirk then appeared n her face as she said the next sentence "Just ask Jemma, she'll set the record straight,"  
  
Peggy chuckled as she remembered how excited the woman was before, then looked back at May "You're a good person,"  
  
May shrugged "I spent too much time around you," she said, taking Peggy aback as she turned around "Night, Peg," she said as she walked towards her own room and disappearing inside. Peggy stood slightly shocked before closing the door behind her and walking to get changed into some clothes to sleep in.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't get back in until after midnight," Trip shook his head.  
  
Hunter hummed in agreement "I mean, seriously, how long does it take to get a few clothes?"  
  
"Longer than you think," May said as she stirred her tea, leaning against the counter.  
  
"Don't like shopping?" Daniel asked her as he poured himself a coffee.  
  
May shook her head "I go for necessity, not fun,"  
  
Skye snorted as she slumped down in the chair "We practically had to drag you out with us, it was ridiculous,"  
  
May just shrugged as Peggy walked in, making everyone do a double take. She was wearing black, tight fitted jeans, and a purple button up blouse with black faux leather cuffs and a matching collar. Her hair was down and natural, but her makeup was as usual; winged eyeliner, light foundation, except there was no red lipstick. Skye had talked her ear off last night about which up goes with which outfit and how the wrong make up could sometimes ruin an outfit. So Peggy had gone with a lip gloss Skye had chosen for her.  
  
"Good morning," she said, but stopped in her tracks when she saw everyone staring "What?"  
  
"Uh-nothi-no, just-" Daniel stuttered as his face started to turn a bright shade of red and May raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk.  
  
"Damn, Director, you look hot!" Skye called out, very loudly, catching Peggy off guard slightly.  
  
"Skye," May sighed, shaking her head, but Trip, Mack and Hunter just chuckled at her.  
  
"What? I'm sorry, but she does," Skye said, gesturing to the English woman standing in front of everyone, who was not trying very hard not to let the blush creep up her neck any further "And we are women, so we are allowed to appreciate one another, amirite?"  
  
"Absolutely," Trip nodded and raised his mug in a toast-like fashion, Skye following suit with her own.  
  
"Uh, thank you...I think," Peggy said and took a seat as May passed over a mug she had set aside seconds earlier. Peggy took it warily, but May just hid her smirk behind her own mug as Peggy took a sip, recognition growing on her face "How did you...never mind, thank you," May just nodded back at her with the faintest smile she had ever seen, so small that anyone else would've missed it.  
  
As Peggy looked over at Daniel, she noticed he was trying to look anywhere but her, which made her frown slightly. She'd have to talk to him later, but now wasn't the right time, not in front of everyone.  
  
"Good morning, everyone!" they heard Jemma's chirpy voice as she bounced into the room "Director, you look lovely," she smiled and moved passed towards the tea.  
  
"Thank you," Peggy said then frowned "But you do understand that I'm not the Director?" she said, to everyone in general.  
  
"Well not at the moment, but once the director, always the director," Trip said.  
  
Jemma turned around with the mug in her hand "Exactly, and it kind of seems like the only appropriate name, considering you worked so hard to build us from nothing,"  
  
"Yes, but that's _future_ me," Peggy stated "I haven't done anything yet," she said "Peggy will be fine,"

* * *

Pulling up to the Stark Tower, May and Peggy climbed out of the car, only for Peggy to hesitate to go in "You okay?" May asked.  
  
"Yes, of course, I just..." Peggy trailed off, and May waited patiently. After a couple minutes, Peggy nodded that she was ready, and May lead her into the lobby of Stark Industries. As they walked across the marble floors towards the reception desk, they found themselves standing in front of a young woman who was wearing a Bluetooth earpiece who looked up at them with a friendly smile.  
  
"Hi, welcome to Stark Industries, how can I help you?" she asked kindly.  
  
"Melinda May for Pepper Potts, please," May said, Skye had already hacked Pepper's schedule and fitted them in.  
  
The woman checked it and smiled back up at them "Yes, she's waiting for you,"  
  
"Thank you," May said and they made their way to the elevator, pressing the second highest floor "Pepper Potts is the CEO of Stark Industries," May explained when she saw the wheels turning in Peggy's head "Back in 2010, Stark was still trying to figure out how to be Iron Man, so he turned the company over to his assistant, who pretty much ran his life anyway, Stark wouldn't last a day without Pepper,"  
  
Peggy couldn't help the small grin that spread before they reached the second highest floor in the building. As the doors opened, a British voice above them spoke _"Miss Potts, Agent May is here to see you,"_  
  
The voice sent shivers down Peggy's spine, but brushed it off until she heard a voice reply "Thank you, JARVIS," that was what freaked her out even more. As they stepped further onto the floor, they saw they were being approached by a tall, attractive redhead that took every step with confidence "You know," she started "When suddenly my appointments had been pushed back and I checked my schedule to find one Melinda May, I knew this had to be important," she smiled at May and the two embraced before Pepper turned to Peggy and froze after a few moments "Jesus Christ," she breathed.  
  
"Pepper Potts, meet 1940's Peggy Carter," May introduced. Pepper's eyes her wide with alarm and her eyebrows were knitted together.  
  
"By the look on your face, I can only assume we've met before," Peggy said.  
  
Pepper's face never changed, but her eyes did a scan of Peggy's full body "Yeah, but you're supposed to be like 96 and in a nursing home,"  
  
"Hey, Pepper, have you seen Natasha anywhere?" they heard a voice form behind them. A voice Peggy knew all too well. She took a breath before she turned around.  
  
"Holy shit,"  
  
 _"Hello, Steve,"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be more Daniel in the future chapters, I promise. But I needed to do this.


	4. I'm sorry, what?

When Trip and Hunter had taken Daniel shopping, they were in and out. They were there for an hour tops, but that was because Trip insisted that Daniel buy a modern tailored suit which had to be fitted (because every man needed a suit to make them feel as good as they looked). The other clothes they bought were just simple shirts, jeans and slacks.  
  
They were currently downstairs in the gym, training. Hunter had brought Hunter some S.H.I.E.L.D. gym clothes consisting of the same shirt he'd worn the day before - except black with a white logo, and black shorts, but Daniel had insisted on pants.  
  
"You know, nowadays it's not a disadvantage to have a prosthetic," Trip said as Daniel walked over to the weight bench. Daniel didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't have a prosthetic, he had a peg leg, and that was definitely a disadvantage.  
  
"We once worked with a guy...then against a guy who was 50% robotic," Fitz mentioned as he walked in, carrying a tablet in hand "We called him Deathlock,"  
  
"Deathlock?" Daniel raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
Fitz shrugged "Wasn't our idea," he said before taking a step closer "Alright, Agent Sousa, in order for Simmons and I to get an accurate depiction of how you got here, I'm gonna need you to tell me everything you remember,"  
  
Daniel just sat down on the lifting bench and took a breath "I don't really remember much," Daniel said "Peggy and I were in the office doing paperwork, it's pretty much all they trusted us with," he added at the end "We were talking about something, but I don't think we were laughing, I think the conversation was a little more serious than that," Daniel shrugged as he frowned "But then something else happened,"  
  
"What?" Fitz pushed.  
  
Daniel shook his head, still frowning "I don't know, but it was something big," he said "I just can't put my finger on it...it was loud though,"  
  
Fitz nodded and Daniel watched as he started working on his tablet "Is that all you remember before waking up?"  
  
Daniel nodded "I'm sorry, it's not much help,"  
  
Fitz looked back up at him with a small smile "That's okay, it'll come back to you, in the meantime, Jemma and I will try and get closer to solving this thing,"

* * *

It was like a battle of stares. Peggy was staring at Steve who was staring right back at her, Pepper was staring at the both of them and May was trying hard not to roll her eyes at the absurdity of the moment.  
  
"You're really alive," Peggy breathed as she took a step closer to him, Steve following suit, but stopping a few feet apart.  
  
"You're here," he breathed "And not old,"  
  
That comment shook Peggy from her trance and she let out a chuckle "Wow, how flattering, Steve," she quipped sarcastically.  
  
Pepper still hadn't moved, and neither had her facial expression, so May gently took her by the bicep and guided her to the elevator. Pepper protested once, but knew they needed some privacy.  
  
"You still have no idea how to talk to women, do you?" Peggy asked, taking another step towards him.  
  
"I'm getting better," he breathed and raised his hand slowly, bringing it to caress her cheek, his thumb running over her cheekbone "I've missed you,"  
  
Peggy gave a sad smile "I missed you, too," she said just as softly looking straight into his eyes.  
  
Neither one of them knew who initiated it, but soon they were in each other's embrace, clinging onto each other for dear life - like either one could slip away at any moment.

"Melinda, what the hell is going on?" Pepper asked in a hushed tone as they rode the elevator down a couple of floors.  
  
"I don't know," Melinda said honestly "We just found her and one of her colleagues in the middle of nowhere," she said "And no, we don't know how they got here," Pepper closed her mouth, Melinda had cut her off. As the elevator doors opened with a ding, they walked into one of Tony's R&D floors, where he was blasting loud 80's music and messing with sensors.  
  
"JARVIS do you mind cutting the music, please?" Pepper called out over the loud music, which Tony couldn't hear her over.  
  
"Hey! I was listening to that!" Tony spun around to see the two women "Ah, Melinda, what do I owe this pleasure?" he had a smile on his face but his eyes glinted mischief.  
  
Melinda rolled her eyes and Pepper answered "Tony, something's happened,"  
  
Tony's smile faded at the tone in her voice. Tony knew Pepper better than Tony knew himself, and she had a look on her face that said she'd just seen a ghost "Pepper? Is everything okay?" he asked. Melinda was always amazed at how sincere Tony could turn when he was with Pepper, and he never tried to hide it in front of others either.  
  
"Yes, well-uhm-the thing is-" Pepper stuttered, not really knowing how to put it, so Melinda took the reins.  
  
"Peggy's upstairs," she said simply, earning a confused look "I mean, straight-out-of-the-forties-Peggy is upstairs, talking to a Steve who she thought was dead,"  
  
Tony's eyebrows rose into his hairline, and it would almost be comical had it not been for the circumstances, because Melinda had felt like that 99.9% of the time in the past 48 hours.  
  
"Tony," said Melinda softly, which normally take him by surprise "We don't know anything about what's going on yet, but we're working on it,"  
  
"Aunt Peggy's here?" he asked quietly "How old?"  
  
"Twenty seven," said Melinda.  
  
"You should see her, Tony," Pepper started in awe "She looks...indescribable,"

* * *

"Peggy..." Steve whispered as he pulled his head back from their embrace to look at her "How are you here?"  
  
"I don't know," she whispered back, looking right into his eyes "May told me what happened with HYDRA and I just..." she trailed off "Are you okay?"  
  
Steve nodded and pressed his forehead against hers. They hadn't moved from the spot they'd been hugging in for the past ten minutes, but they didn't need to "Of course I'm okay, I'm better than okay," he said, grabbing the back of her neck to keep her head in place "You're here, and you're alive,"  
  
"We're both technically ninety six so that's definitely something," Peggy said, making Steve chuckle.  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel better, real-life you at ninety six doesn't look too bad, either," he smirked.  
  
Peggy raised her head so she could look at him properly "I'm still alive? In 2015?"  
  
Steve nodded "Yeah, I'd take you there but I don't think that's a good idea," he said, making her smile at him "You know..." he started and looked around to see they were the only one on Pepper's floor "We never got to have that dance,"  
  
"Yes, well, our plans were ruined by someone who was more patriotic than the average person," Peggy pointed out making Steve smile like an idiot.  
  
"JARVIS, can we have some music, please?" Steve called out.  
  
"Yes, Captain, of course," he said "What would you like?"  
  
"Bing Crosby, I Can't Begin To Tell You," he said, his eyes never leaving Peggy's. As the music started to play, Steve led Peggy around to stand out in the open floor, giving them room "Y'know I still don't know how to dance," he said as his right hand settled on the small of her back, the other grasped her own as Peggy's other hand fell to his shoulder, sliding down to his bicep.  
  
"You're doing fine," she said quietly. As they swayed with the music, their eyes never left one another and the rest of the world ceased to exist. Time had stopped all together and Steve had felt like he was in a dream, the woman he loved was in his arms. The dance may have been seventy years too late, but every moment was worth it.  
  
As the last note sounded and they stopped swaying, Steve leaned down, making Peggy close her eyes as their lips met. Their first kiss had been in fear, that they'd never see each other again. It had been quick and soft, and Steve was caught so off guard, he'd looked towards Colonel Phillips, who'd make a quip about not kissing him.  
  
This one was different, it was savored, and it was slow. As Steve pressed harder, his hands found their way to her hips, pulling her closer as his tongue glided along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Her arms made their way to the back of his neck, her fingers linking together as her elbows rest on his shoulder.  
  
She opened her mouth and granted him access, their tongues battling one another as the kiss deepened. Their bodies pressed impossibly closer together. Their height difference was non-existent as her heels provided the height she needed.   
  
They stayed like that, kissing for what seemed like hours, until Peggy pulled back "Wait, Steve..." she panted, breathlessly.  
  
"We're moving too fast, I know," Steve nodded, letting her step back a bit as he bowed his head.  
  
"No, it's not that," Peggy said, her hands now resting on his shoulders "It's just...Steve it's been two years..."  
  
Steve gave her a small, sad smile "You've moved on," he concluded. When she stayed silent, he knew he was right.  
  
"Steve..." she started.  
  
"No, it's okay," he said and stroked her cheek once "Actually, I, uh..."  
  
Steve didn't have to say it out loud, because by the small smile that graced Peggy's features, she already knew "What's her name?"  
  
Her hands left his shoulders and he released her hips to rub a hand on the back of her neck and laugh nervously "Maria," Peggy smiled at him before leaning up and giving his one last soft kiss before pulling back "Well, I guess this is an end of an era, huh?"  
  
Peggy chuckled at him before replying "We got our dance, Steve," she said "That's all we ever hoped for, right?"  
  
"Yeah, Peggy," Steve smiled and pulled her into an embrace "That's all we ever hoped for,"

* * *

After Peggy and Steve had caught up, they made their way down to the common area, where - no doubt - the rest of the Avengers would be waiting for them. The only thing that spread faster in this building than assignments, was gossip. As they entered the floor which occupied an extremely large kitchen and an even bigger lounge room, they made their way to the group who were talking on the couches.  
  
"Hey Cap!" one of them called out. He was twirling a drumstick in his hand and had a beer in the other "Who's your friend?" he asked with a wink and a smirk.  
  
Everyone turned and stood in the presence of the new company as they went and stood in front of them "Guys, this is Peggy Carter,"  
  
"Woah," a redheaded woman breathed as she took a step closer so she was standing close to a foot away from the English agent "So freaky,"  
  
"Peggy, this is Natasha Romanov," he said.  
  
"The assassin, right?" Peggy asked as Natasha studied her closely.  
  
Natasha looked up and put a hand to her heart "Aw, Rogers you flatter me,"  
  
"Hey, I didn't say anything," Steve raised his hands in innocence.  
  
"Actually, May told me about all of you," Peggy said and Natasha took a step back so she could address the rest of the group "You must be Barton, Banner and Thor,"  
  
"Lady Peggy," Thor said and took what looked like a bow in her direction "It is an honor to meet you,"  
  
Peggy was about to ask when Natasha leaned in "He refers to everyone as Lady," she whispered "You'll get to used to it,"  
  
Peggy wasn't sure about that, but they seemed normal enough "It's a pleasure," Banner stepped forward and shook her hand "I'm the guy that turns into the big scary green dude,"  
  
Before Peggy could respond, a voice made her freeze slightly "Aunt Peggy?"  
  
As she turned to her left, she saw a man in his forties approaching her with caution, Pepper and May on his tail. She knew who he was, because he was a splitting image of his father.  
  
"Blimey," she muttered as he got closer.  
  
"Aunt Pegs, you're... _young_ ," Tony said.  
  
Peggy let out a slight laugh "Yes, I've been that quite a lot in the past 24 hours," she looked over him.  
  
Everyone could tell Tony was nervous, which was awkward for everyone. No one was used to seeing him like this, not even Pepper "You and my father were good friends," he started "You're my godmother,"  
  
Peggy nodded, then frowned "Am I anyone else's godmother?"  
  
May and Tony shared a smirk before shaking their heads "You do have a niece and a nephew, though,"  
  
"Agent 13," said Steve, nodding "Haven't met your nephew though,"  
  
"Right," Peggy nodded "This just reached a new level of weird,"  
  
"Stark!" a voice yelled from the direction of the elevator "How many times have I gotta tell you to stop putting these stupid robots in my office," everyone looked to see a young woman with brown hair in a bun, wearing a business suit and carrying a broken robot in her hand, looking like she was ready to kill a man "The next one I find, I won't hesitate to shove it up your- _holy fuck!_ "  
  
The woman jumped as soon as she saw Peggy standing there.  
  
"Hill, meet Peggy Carter," Clint smirked from his seat as the woman just stared. By the way she felt Steve straighten up and clasp his hands behind his back, Peggy could only assume this was Maria.  
  
"What the actual fuck?" Maria breathed "Just when I thought this goddamn tower couldn't get any weirder,"  
  
"Hey, I didn't bring her here," Tony lifted his hands in defense, but he still had a smirk on her face. Something told Peggy that Tony loved annoying people, but one Maria Hill in particular.  
  
"Peggy this is Maria Hill," Steve said, and Peggy smiled at him knowingly, to which he just shifted awkwardly and blushed. Yep, this was definitely her.  
  
Peggy held out her hand for Maria to shake, which she took tentatively, but shook firmly nonetheless "Nice to meet you,"


	5. What Just Happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone pointed out to me that in the Marvel Universe they do have hover cars (Lola) which I totally forgot about, so just ignore that.

"How do you think it's going?" Skye asked Phil as she walked into his office without knocking and taking a seat across from him.  
  
Phil sighed and sat back in his chair "Not sure, you'll have to ask May that,"  
  
Skye nodded "Speaking of May..."  
  
Phil looked up and saw the look on her face "Don't go there, Skye," he shook his head.  
  
"What? Carter and Sousa are giving me _no_ satisfaction, so I need something," she defended herself and Phil rolled his eyes.  
  
"Skye," Phil leaned forward on his elbows "There's nothing going on between May and me, there never will be," he said, and Skye could swear he looked disappointed "It's as simple as that,"  
  
"I don't believe that," Skye shook her head "You're in love with her, everyone can see it!"  
  
Phil sat back in his chair again "Skye, enough," he said, making her roll her eyes and stand up, making her way to the door.  
  
"You're an idiot," she said, before slamming the door shut behind her, making Phil sigh and loosen the tie around his neck.  
  
She wasn't wrong, he knew that. And whilst it may be true on his end, he knew May would never reciprocate. He'd been in love with her since the academy, and the one time he thought he had a shot, she got married to someone else. Then he knew he'd never had a chance. He'd tried to move on with Audrey, and he was happy, for a while.  
  
He had been happy until he realized that he'd rather have a conversation with Melinda on the phone than spend time with Audrey. He was going to end it, but then he died, and that sorted it out for him. He'd never meant to hurt Audrey. He cared for her deeply, he loved Audrey, but not in the way he should've. Not in the way he loves Melinda.

* * *

"So, Maria seems nice," said Peggy as she and Steve went for a walk through Central Park. It was a little cold considering it was late September, but the leather jacket Peggy had worn kept her warm enough.  
  
Steve gave a nervous chuckle "Yeah..."  
  
Peggy looked up at him "Steve," she started "Hill may be a little closed off, and somewhat snarky on the outside...but something tells me once you get past the exterior, you'll find a completely different person,"  
  
"She's a good person," Steve nodded, looking at the ground "I know who she is, but she won't let me in,"  
  
"Have you tried?" Peggy asked him, and he just shrugged as he looked straight ahead "Steve, what's the matter?" she asked and stopped walking, making her do the same thing.  
  
"Nothing," he protested, his hands in his pockets "I just..." he shook his head before saying the next sentence "Maria doesn't believe in superheroes, which means she doesn't believe in me,"  
  
Peggy let out a soft sigh and rubbed his arms "Steve, don't approach her as Captain America," she pointed out "Approach her as the kid from Brooklyn who was too much of a moron to run away from a fight,"  
  
Steve looked at her and shook his head with a smile "I've missed you," he said and pulled her into his side, draping an arm around her shoulders as they kept walking through the park.

* * *

After Peggy had spent the day with Steve and the rest of the Avengers, she and May had made their way back to the Playground where they were just in time for dinner.  
  
"So, did you see Captain America?" Skye asked as she reached across the table for the salt.  
  
Peggy looked over at her and shrugged a single shoulder "Captain America? No. Steve? Yes."  
  
"What'd you do?" Peggy thought back to their dance, and their kiss, and then meeting the other Avengers and couldn't help the smile on her face "Oh, my _God_ , did you get lucky?"  
  
"Skye!" Phil chastised as everyone else tried to hide their snickers. Daniel was trying to look everywhere but Peggy, again, but the English agent just looked at Skye and replied.  
  
"No," she said simply "I don't believe I did,"  
  
Skye slumped back in her chair and Phil and Melinda shared a look before rolling their eyes. Something no one seemed to miss.

* * *

"Daniel," Peggy said, catching him just before he closed the door to his room.  
  
"Yeah?" he said, looking at her as they stood in the doorway.  
  
Peggy frowned lightly as she asked "Are we okay?"  
  
Daniel matched her frown as he leaned on the door frame "What do you mean?"  
  
"You just seem angry at me all the time, it's like you can't even look at me anymore," she replied.  
  
"Everything's fine," he shrugged, but Peggy wasn't letting go. She just walked past him into his room and turned back around to face him.  
  
"I'm not leaving until we get everything out in the open," Peggy said, her arms folding across her chest.  
  
 _'You don't want that, Peggy,'_ Daniel thought to himself, but just sighed at her.  
  
"Daniel," she said, waiting impatiently.  
  
"You lied to me," he said simply "You were lying to me the whole time,"  
  
Peggy frowned "No, I wasn't, I was just not telling you the whole truth, there's a difference,"  
  
Daniel shrugged, irritation evident in each move as he shut the door to his room and took a step closer to her "You could've told me, everything. But instead you preferred to work for Stark because, what? You had a thing?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Peggy asked. She knew what Daniel was implying, and frankly, it made her nauseous.  
  
"You lied for him because you were sleeping with him!" Daniel's voice was loud, and Peggy just prayed that no one else heard it.  
  
"You honestly believe I was sleeping with Howard Stark?" she asked, taking a step closer. They were now standing only a few feet apart, and they could feel the tension rising in between "What kind of a person do you think I am?"  
  
"I don't know, Peggy!" Daniel exclaimed "But, honestly, you're variety astounds me! You could have anyone you want, literally anyone, and you choose Stark."  
  
"I never slept with Stark!" she almost screamed back, so angry that she hadn't noticed that she'd stepped forward so that their faces were less than a foot apart. Her eyes were blazing as they looked into his, whose anger rivaled hers.  
  
Everything then turned to a blur as suddenly Peggy's lips were on his and he was up against the wall, holding him upright as their mouths fused together. Daniel had dropped his crutch, not needing it up against the wall, and pulled her closer by the waist. Her hands were on either side of his head, height difference non existent even without her heels on. As their tongues clashed in war, the temperature rose and air became a rare feat. Suddenly Peggy jumped back, pushing off of him and covering her mouth with her hand. Her face was flushed and her lips were slightly swollen, her eyes wide.  
  
"I'm sorry-I have to go," she fumbled as she raced out the door, ignoring Daniel's calls for her to stay. Daniel slumped back against the wall and shook his head at himself. He knew it was too good to be true. Especially when it came to her, she could do so much better than him and he knew it.  
  
 _'Yeah, and she most-likely knows it too'_

* * *

"Are you okay?" Melinda found Peggy in the cockpit, her knees up to her chest just staring out at nothing. She'd walked past her room and round she wasn't there and decided to go find her. The cockpit was the third place she looked, after the common area and the kitchen. Third time's a charm.  
  
"I'm fine," Peggy replied, but by the tear she furiously wiped away and the crack in her voice, she knew that was a lie.  
  
Melinda sank down gracefully into the chair and sat in silence. She'd never been one to comfort, but Peggy was her family, whether she was a different version or not.  
  
"I mucked it up," Peggy said, shaking her head "I mucked everything up, and now Daniel hates me and I can't be too sure I don't hate myself,"  
  
"He cares about you," Melinda said "A lot,"  
  
Peggy let out a dry, humorless laugh "I wouldn't be too sure about that,"  
  
"I would," Melinda said "Even Fitz can see it and he is hopeless when it comes to this sort of thing,"  
  
That make Peggy chuckle before she sobered and shook her head "He thinks I slept with Stark, that's why I was helping him,"  
  
"Gross," Melinda said, and Peggy outright laughed.  
  
"I know, right?" Peggy sniffed softly before resting her head back against the seat "You'd be amazed at the list,"  
  
"Same goes for Tony," Melinda said "Like father, like son," she pointed out "Before Pepper anyway,"  
  
"Don't tell me Anthony bought jewellery for every woman he's slept with," Peggy said, and Melinda smirked at her.  
  
"No, just Pepper,"  
  
"Oh, thank God,"

* * *

"Has anyone seen Carter?" Daniel asked as he saw some of the agents talking in the control room of the Playground.  
  
"I think she's in the gym," he heard Trip reply. Daniel nodded his thanks before making his way down to the gym, where he heard the distinct sound of a punching bag being put to good use, being hit faster and faster with every passing moment.  
  
As he looked through the glass he saw a familiar English SSR agent with her knuckles wrapped tightly, her hair tied back and her fists slamming into the heavy bag with such force that it was swinging back and forth. He opened the door slowly and stepped in, trying not to knock his crutch on his way in.  
  
"You aren't as quiet as you might think," she panted, not turning around to look at him, still punching the bag.  
  
Daniel just walked over and steadied it, putting all his weight behind it to hold it against her surprisingly powerful punches, and to hold himself upright. Standing behind the bag, he could finally see her face. Her skin glistened with sweat and her brow was furrowed with determination and anger. Minutes passed before either of them said anything, only the sound of punching filling the air, tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.  
  
"Peggy." Daniel said. His voice was firm, but soft and Peggy finally stopped, ceasing her movements. She stood staring at the bag, breathing heavily, and Daniel tried not to watch her chest rise and fall.  
  
"Did you come here to gloat?" she finally said, still not looking at him.  
  
Daniel frowned in confusion "What? Gloat?"  
  
"Well I proved your point, didn't I?" she replied, finally looking up at him, her jaw working "My variety astounds you, doesn't it?"  
  
That's when it hit him, and he felt like a complete idiot "Peggy, I-"  
  
"I don't need to hear it, thank you," Peggy said and started to unwrap her knuckles.  
  
"What I said was stupid-"  
  
"And false." Peggy cut in, not looking up at him.  
  
Daniel nodded slowly "And I know that now,"  
  
"Yes, well you should've known that from the start," Peggy said and started to step back to discard her wraps, only to be stopped by Daniel grabbing her wrist.  
  
"Peggy, I was an idiot," he shook his head "I was petty-"  
  
He didn't finish the sentence, because Peggy had already cut him off "You know what the worst part was, Daniel?" she asked rhetorically "It was the fact that you assumed I was only loyal to Howard because I was sleeping with him. You believed that I jumped into bed with the only man I considered a friend, the only person who respected me, who believed in who I am and what I do."  
  
"I believed in you," Daniel replied softly.  
  
Peggy scoffed and shook her head "Right,"  
  
"I did. I do." Daniel said forcefully, pulling her closer by the wrist, so they were a mere foot away from each other.  
  
Peggy looked up at him "Then why? Why the charade? Why the anger?"  
  
Daniel dropped his gaze from hers, suddenly finding the floor extremely interesting "Because the thought of you with Stark..." he shook his head before looking back up at her "I was jealous and an ass because of it,"  
  
Peggy let out a frustrated growl and turned around, Daniel releasing her wrist so she could stalk off "You are so infuriating!" she yelled over her shoulder before disappearing out of the gym, leaving Daniel standing there confused and baffled.

* * *

Jemma watched with alarm as Peggy's eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly. They were in the lab, Peggy and Daniel were lying on beds attached to monitors and machines. Jemma had taken their blood work and was monitoring their brainwaves.  
  
"What is it?" Jemma asked, concerned as she rushed to her side.  
  
"There was an explosion," Peggy said.  
  
"What type of explosion?" Fitz asked, taking a step closer to the bed.  
  
Peggy thought hard, trying to go back "Daniel and I were in the office and suddenly the elevator doors blew in, the only other thing I remember was the green smoke,"  
  
 _'And Daniel falling to the ground'_ she thought to herself, but she would never voice that out loud.  
  
Fitz nodded and typed it into his tablet as Jemma frowned in thought "Do you know something?" Peggy asked her.  
  
"I..." Jemma trailed off and closed her tablet "I think I've seen this before, amongst the old SSR files in the basement," she said before racing off down the hallway. May, who had been standing on the outside of the lab, easily caught up beside her.  
  
"You got something?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not sure yet," Jemma replied as they reached the door that lead to the basement "But we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"  
  
May followed her down the stairs and started pulling boxes from from piles "What are we looking for?"  
  
"Look for anything involving toxic gas bombs causing temporary memory loss," said Jemma as she set three boxes on the table, flipping off the lids and pulling out files.  
  
May nodded and did the same. They were there for forty minutes, files were scattered everywhere, boxes discarded and both agents were sitting on the floor across from one another.  
  
"I've found it!" Jemma exclaimed, her eyes widening.  
  
"You sure?" May asked, placing the file in her hand off to the side as Jemma nodded and passed the file over. May opened the file and skimmed it over "Okay, yeah, you're sure."


	6. Bang!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might not make sense because I had to make some bullshit up, but here goes.

"In 1947, the SSR was hit by a weapon developed by a radical group called _Rivolta_ , a.k.a The Uprising." Jemma started "The weapon was designed to create short term memory loss to those exposed to the toxin,"  
  
"Basically, what happens is the bomb creates a blast radius of twenty meters," Fitz continued "The bomb then releases a chamber containing a modified version of Carbon Monoxide gas, the fact that the gas was green tells us that the genetic makeup of the gas had been altered on a molecular level,"  
  
Peggy and Daniel looked at each other before looking back at the two scientists in front of them "So how does that get us here?" Daniel asked.  
  
Jemma shifted somewhat uncomfortably on her feet before clearing her throat "Well-you see, the rumor was that the blast altered the molecular structure again and failed...sort of,"  
  
"Sort of?" Peggy raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Put it this way, the explosion and the gas together created an effect that kind of...ripped you out of your bodies and into another time zone," Mack added.   
  
He was standing against the wall behind FitzSimmons, but her was there to translate into English in case they got too technical.  
  
"Ripped us out of our bodies?" Daniel asked "What the hell does that mean?"  
  
Fitz stuttered slightly before he finally got his sentence out "Uh, there's two of you,"  
  
"Two of us?" Peggy repeated "As in, two of me and two of Daniel?"  
  
FitzSimmons nodded quickly before Jemma said "So basically, after the explosion, you both suffered temporary memory loss but you both lived your lives like normal, but the other set of...you, came here,"  
  
"So if we stay here, everything stays as normal?" Daniel asked "Because the original versions of us are still living that life?"  
  
"Well...yes," Fitz nodded.  
  
"That's preposterous," Peggy shook her head, trying to wrap her brain around the concept.  
  
FitzSimmons shared a look before Jemma perked up again "There is a away to reverse the process,"  
  
"How?"

* * *

"How you holdin' up?" Phil asked Melinda as they sat in his office.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
Phil shrugged slightly before coming around the front of his desk to lean on it as she sat in the chair "Well, it's gotta be hard on you too," he said quietly "Seeing her like this,"  
  
"It's not so bad," she said, and seeing his quizzical expression, she continued "Seeing her when she was younger, it's kind of fun actually,"  
  
"Do you think they'll go back?" he asked.  
  
Melinda shrugged "I don't know, that's up to them,"  
  
Phil paused for a moment before sitting down in the second chair "Do you want them to go back?"  
  
Melinda didn't answer for a long moment "I don't know,"  
  
Phil looked over at her. She was sitting with her gaze forward, not looking at him. She was stiff in the chair, when she was usually relaxed (as relaxed as Melinda gets, anyway). So he reached across to the hands that was on the armrest, and took it in his gently. When he got no reaction, he was about to pull it away.  
  
But a small squeeze stopped him, and he only held it tighter.

* * *

"What do you think?" Daniel asked, sitting on the couch of the common area.  
  
Peggy shook her head and blew out a breath "I haven't a clue,"  
  
Daniel paused for a moment before saying "We can go back," he suggested "But the question is-"  
  
"Do we _want_ to go back?" Peggy finished for him. They sat back into the couch in silence before Peggy spoke up again "I miss Angie,"  
  
"Hell, I miss Thompson," Daniel said, making Peggy snort softly.  
  
"Believe it or not, me too," Peggy sighed "But this new era, 2015, it's so evolved. This is what we created, this is what we've achieved,"  
  
"I'd feel bad if we stayed here though," Daniel said "I mean, we just lost the Chief, what does that say about us if we just leave?"  
  
"But we're still there, remember?" Peggy said "Original us is still there,"  
  
Daniel shook his head and leaned forward on his elbows, holding his head in his hands "This conversation is making my brain hurt,"  
  
Peggy let out a huff of amusement and put a hand on his shoulder "Well, maybe we should just wait a little while before making any decisions," she suggested "We've got time,"  
  
Daniel looked back over his shoulder at her, resting his cheek on her hand "Okay," he said quietly as her thumb stroked the side of his shoulder "We'll wait,"

* * *

"So, what was it like, Rogers?" Steve heard Maria's voice as she walked into the kitchen, and his head shot up to look at her "Seeing Carter?"  
  
Steve smiled slightly before answering "Better than I imagined," he said, and he could almost see Maria's face twitch slightly.  
  
"Gotta admit," she said as she took a seat on the stool across from him "It was weird,"  
  
Steve laughed at that "That's an understatement," he said "And people freaked out that I was still alive,"  
  
Maria smiled slightly at that "You know, when May was my SO," she started "She took me to see _'an old friend'_ \- that's what she called it."  
  
"Peggy," Steve caught on, making Maria nod.  
  
"She gave me some of the best advice anyone has ever given me," Maria started "She said 'Maria, no matter what happens in your life. No matter how bad things may get, never change what's in here'," she said and reached across to lay her index and middle finger above Steve's heart "'A good heart will always win'."  
  
Steve smiled and nodded "Yeah, that sounds like something she'd say,"  
  
Maria retrieved her hand from his chest and said "Seeing her like...that, was just..." she shook her head "What was she like? Back in the war?"  
  
Steve came around the other side of the counter and sat on the stool next to her "The first time I saw Peggy, she punched a soldier in the face. He hit the ground so hard I thought he was gonna cry," Maria let out a small chuckle before Steve continued "She was the sort of person that took crap from no one but would do anything for a fellow soldier," he continued "She was there along side us when we fought HYDRA, she saved my ass that's for sure,"  
  
"The great Captain America was saved by a _woman_?" Maria mocked, making Steve chuckle.  
  
"More than once," he said "I was absolutely terrified of her," Maria raised an eyebrow at him and he continued "You know those four marks on my shield that won't go away?"  
  
"From bullets," Maria nodded.  
  
"Guess who put them there?" Steve said, making Maria outright laugh. It had to be one of the best sounds Steve had heard, and it made him smile.  
  
"She shot at you?"  
  
Steve nodded "She was pissed off," he said "And if people weren't scared of her before, they were _petrified_ of her after,"  
  
Maria shook her head in amazement "Wow,"  
  
A silence fell over them, it was comfortable, but Steve was trying to think of something to say.  
  
"Maria," he started, making her look him in the eye "I know you don't believe in what I do, and how I became to be...this," he said, gesturing to himself.  
  
"I never said that," Maria said, almost defensively.  
  
"Yes, you did, but that's not the point," Steve said, and cut Maria off before she could object "I like you, Maria, a lot," he said, making her eyes widen slightly "And like I said, I know you don't believe in superheroes, and you definitely don't need a superhero,"  
  
"What's your point, Rogers?"  
  
Steve took a breath before saying "Friday night. You and me."  
  
"On a date?" Maria's eyebrows rose slightly as she asked the question, already knowing the answer.  
  
"On a date." Steve nodded once "I'm not asking you as Captain America," he said "I'm asking you as Steve Rogers, the kid from Brooklyn," he said, relaying Peggy's words that echoed in his head.  
  
Maria remained quiet for a moment, and Steve was beginning to think he'd made an idiot out of himself. That was until he heard the "Okay," come right out of her mouth, followed by a smile.  
  
"Really?" he asked, his back straightening as he perked up.  
  
Maria nodded "Really," she said, sliding off the stool and walking past him "Give me a time, and I'll be ready," she said before disappearing around the corner and out of sight.  
  
Steve smiled idiotically, but he really didn't care at the moment, he was just going to savor it.

* * *

"New phones," Skye said excitedly as she bound into the room, holding two boxes containing iPhones.  
  
Peggy and Daniel looked at the picture of the phone as she handed them over and then looked at each other "These are what phones are these days?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.  
  
Skye resisted the urge to laugh out loud as they started opening the boxes "They're the latest model, but don't drop them, phones aren't exactly indestructible these days,"  
  
"Phones weren't indestructible in 1946 either," Peggy pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure they would've been damaged multiple times when they were sitting on your desk," Skye said sarcastically, earning an eye roll and a smirk from Peggy, but just a raised eyebrow from Daniel "You can take these wherever you go, connect to the internet, pretty much anything,"  
  
Peggy and Daniel frowned "What's the internet?" Daniel asked.  
  
This time Skye did outright laugh "Only the best invention since the computer," she said "Trust me, you'll love it,"  
  
"These will work anywhere?" Peggy asked, holding up the slim, black device and holding it out like a dirty sock.  
  
"Anywhere," Skye nodded and sat down in between them, pulling out her own phone "Alright, so here's how it works,"  
  
Skye spent the next hour trying to teach the two agents how to use a phone. Daniel picked up on it quite easily, Peggy not so much. she let out a frustrated grunt and threw herself back onto the couch "What was wrong with the good old fashioned telegram?"  
  
Skye raised an eyebrow at her "The telegram? You'd rather use a telegram than a phone that is like four thousand times faster and more convenient?"  
  
"Yes, well, you were raised with technology," she pointed out "We have not,"  
  
"Clearly," Skye mumbled before sighing "Okay, let's just go over the basics," she said "To make a call just press the green button that looks like a phone," she said "I've already put all our numbers in so all you have to do is click on our name and it'll call us," she said. Peggy and Daniel nodded, it seemed simple enough.  
  
"Got it," Daniel said.  
  
"To send a message, just click on the green button with a bubble," she said, gesturing to the icon next to the phone button "Click on a name and a keyboard will come up, think of it as a typewriter," She watched as Daniel and Peggy found their way around the message app "And we'll leave it there because I have a headache and you two are hopeless, so I'm not even gonna bother showing you the internet,"  
  
"Sounds good to me," Daniel said and put the phone on the coffee table in front of them.  
  
"Skye, Coulson's office," they heard May's voice from behind them, but before they could turn around, she was already gone.  
  
"That's my cue," Skye said before walking off towards the stairs up to Coulson's office.  
  
Peggy was still staring at the screen of her phone when Daniel looked back over at her "It's so small," she said in awe.  
  
Daniel snorted before standing up, only to fall back down when his crutch lost it's footing. He hit the floor with a loud thud and a groan, and Peggy was on her feet in a split second "Daniel!" she cried out.  
  
 _There was a loud bang. The doors had flown open, roaring past her head as she dove to the ground "Daniel!" she screamed. There was a loud thud, the_ _distinct sound of Daniel's crutch hitting the floor, followed by his body._  
  
 _"Daniel!" she screamed out again, and green smoke started to fill the room. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as she tried crawling her way over_ _to her friend._  
  
 _"Peggy!" he had called out._  
  
"Peggy!" she was suddenly over the top of him, kneeling down beside him. He brought her out of her trance, sitting up as he grabbed her arms. She hadn't noticed she had tears streaming down her face, as she clutched to him, holding on him like a lifeline "It's okay, we're safe now," he said softly, bringing his hands up to cup her cheek with one hand and tangle his fingers through her hair with the other.  
  
She was panting slightly and she looked into his eyes, her own wide "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept repeating and Daniel pulled her into a tight hug. Her face buried into his neck as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.  
  
"Shh," he soothed her "We're okay," he whispered "We're okay,"


	7. Why Us?

"I'm fine, Daniel," Peggy said exasperated as they walked up the stairs towards Coulson's office. Skye had sent them a text a few minutes prior, which freaked the shit out of them both, but got the message nonetheless.  
  
He walked beside her, watching her cautiously "Peggy, you're not fine,"  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes before entering the office, then giving him a look that told him to drop it. As they walked in, they saw Coulson and May standing in front of a large screen, with Skye, Trip, FitzSimmons, Bobbi, Hunter and Mack listening intently.  
  
"Alright, listen up," Coulson said "We've got a hit on another HYDRA base in Lyubertsy in Moscow." Daniel and Peggy stepped up and looked at the map on the screen as Coulson started talking "We believe that's where Ward and Agent 33 are currently hiding,"  
  
"Who are they?" asked Daniel, looking at their photos on the side of the map.  
  
Everyone looked around before Skye spoke up "They were both S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Ward was part of our team actually, until he killed multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and it turned out he'd pledged his alligience to HYDRA a long time ago,"  
  
"Agent 33's a different story," Trip said "She was tortured and brainwashed for hours, HYDRA got to her before we could,"  
  
"And she still has my face," May ground out through gritted teeth, making the rest of the team smirk.  
  
"You were the one that electrocuted her in the face, and now she can't get the mask off," said Coulson, obviously amused.  
  
May just rolled her eyes before continuing "There's a gala, being held at The State Tretyakov Gallery," she said "We have intel that HYDRA's trying to steal the stone,"  
  
"The stone?" Peggy asked.  
  
"We don't know what it does yet," Bobbi said "But we know it holds great power,"  
  
"Like the Tesseract," Peggy nodded, earning a confirmation nod from May.  
  
"The easiest way to get it out of HYDRA's hands is by not letting them get it at all," Coulson said "Which is why we'll be sending in you two," he said, gesturing to Daniel and Peggy.  
  
"Why us?" asked Daniel.  
  
"Because HYDRA knows who we are," May said "But they don't know you,"  
  
"And if they have heard of you, they won't recognize you because you're supposed to be ancient," Skye added with a shrug.  
  
Peggy nodded "How many agents are you expecting?"  
  
Coulson shrugged "We don't know, maybe two, maybe more,"  
  
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Daniel asked, gesturing to his crutch "Can't exactly outrun anyone,"  
  
Coulson smiled slightly at him "We've got that covered," he said, then turned to the rocket scientist in front of him "Fitz?"  
  
Fitz smiled brightly at Daniel and said "If you'd like to follow me down to the lab,"  
  
Daniel looked at Peggy, who just shrugged at him, before following Fitz down to the lab.  
  
"Russia. Again. Brilliant." Peggy said sardonically.  
  
May smirked slightly and stepped forward, giving her a file to read over "History, dossiers, and all the information we have on the stone,"  
  
"Thanks," Peggy said and opened the file.  
  
"We do have to warn you," Hunter said "HYDRA fights dirty, they were trained by S.H.I.E.L.D." Peggy nodded her gratitude to him, before skimming over the file.  
  
"Alright, go get some rest, we'll be up bright and early in the morning," said Coulson, and they all disbanded.  
  
"Hey, Peggy?" Skye called after her as they left the office. Peggy stopped and looked back at her as she walked over, letting the other agents walk past out of earshot "If you have a shot, to take him out." she started "Do it." she said it forcefully, and Peggy could sense the hatred seething out of every pore. Peggy nodded to her "Promise me," Skye said.  
  
"Okay," she nodded again, grabbing the girl's wrist reassuringly "I promise,"  
  
Skye nodded before walking past her and down the staircase. Peggy frowned. Something happened to that girl, at the hands of this Ward guy, she imagines. A lot more than betrayal from what she could tell.  
  
Peggy walked down the stairs moments later, reading the file in her hands. She and Daniel were to go undercover as a married couple to infiltrate a neo Nazi organization who were trying to steal an alternative to the Tesseract. Peggy almost laughed at the irony.  
  
As she looked up when she turned the corner, she saw Daniel standing up straight, no crutch. She almost dropped the file when he started to walk. He faltered slightly and grabbed the lab table for support, but quickly stood up straight again and took more steps. When he noticed her standing there, her mouth agape, she saw him smile brightly and wave her in. She shook herself out of her trance and walked in to the lab  
  
"Check it out, Peg," he said and lifted his pant leg to reveal a metal replacement underneath. It looked exactly like a normal leg, only made out of titanium "I'm wearing a robot leg,"  
  
"Alright, try walking again," Fitz said and Daniel let go of the table. He stood up straight, locked his eyes with Peggy's and took five confident strides to stand directly in front of her. And close.  
  
"You can walk," Peggy breathed as she looked down, her hands automatically coming up to lay on his chest.  
  
"Mhm," he nodded and suddenly he had a mischievous glint in his eye "I can also do this," suddenly he bent down, wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder.  
  
"Daniel!" she shrieked and she could hear the faint laughing of Fitz in the background. When Daniel started to spin her around in a circle, she clutched at the back of his shirt "Daniel, put me down!"  
  
"Nope, I'm having too much fun," he responded, spinning her in the opposite direction.  
  
"Don't make me hurt you, Daniel!" she growled "You know I will!"  
  
She heard Daniel huff "Fine," He put her down gently and looked up to see she was glaring at him like she was ready to kill "Oh, come on, it was a little fun,"  
  
"For you maybe," she responded then looked down at his leg "Well, at least we know it works,"  
  
"Of course it works," Fitz said from his spot over near the table "I built it,"  
  
Daniel looked back at him "Do I get to keep this?"  
  
"If you stay, sure," Fitz smiled "It's all yours,"  
  
Daniel smiled and looked down at the leg, exposed due to his rolled up pant leg, before walking over to Fitz, his hand outstretched "Thank you,"  
  
"Anytime," Fitz shook his hand "And whilst you're both down here, I can go through our weapons with you,"  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Peggy responded before making her way over to the bench with the different toys.

* * *

"How does it feel?" Peggy asked him as Daniel walked her back to her room. He'd kept the leg on all day to get used to it. Fitz had run numerous tests, making him run on the treadmill, jump hurdles, even kickboxing.  
  
"Strange," he said. They were walking slowly, and Daniel wasn't limping "I feel like there should be something under my arm," he joked.  
  
He expected her to chuckle, but he didn't expect her to grab his hand and pull his arm over her shoulders "Better?" she asked, not looking at him.  
  
He smiled at her as they kept walking "Yeah, better,"  
  
"What you said today," she started "About being jealous..."  
  
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah..."  
  
"Was it true?" she looked up as she asked him.  
  
Daniel sighed "Of course I was jealous, Peggy," he said "I mean, have you met yourself? Who wouldn't be jealous?" he asked rhetorically and they reached her room. They both turned to look at each other as they stood in the doorway "I don't expect you to feel the same, Peg-"  
  
"Daniel, stop talking," she said forcefully "You are an idiot," she said and stepped forward, closing the gap between them as she pressed her lips to his. It wasn't like the first one. The first one was full of anger and passion, but this one was slower and calmer (even though their hearts were racing 3 times faster than they should've been).  
  
As the kiss got deeper, Daniel pushed Peggy up against the door, pushing his body flush against hers. He tangled his hands through her hair, and she roamed her hands over his back.  
  
"Get a room," they heard Skye, pulling them out of their bubble. They pulled apart to see her walking, her head down, looking at her phone, not paying any attention to them - which was a little surprising.  
  
Daniel was still pressed against her on the wall and he chuckled as she groaned, her head falling to his shoulder. After a few moments, he said "Please tell me you meant that,"  
  
She raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him, bringing her hand to cup his jaw "Every moment," she whispered. Instead of answering her, he just nodded and leaned in, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to her lips once more.  
  
"We should get some sleep," he said and started to push off of her so they both could stand straight "G'night, Peg," he said and started to walk off.  
  
But before he could go anywhere, he pulled him back by the wrist and pressed their lips together again. His tongue glided into her mouth and his arms wrapped around her waist as hers did his neck.  
  
After a few minutes, they pulled away, panting slightly "Good night, Daniel," she said before pecking his lips one more time and letting him go.

* * *

The next morning, the agents left early for Moscow. They were on the Bus, preparing for the mission. They'd go in for the stone tomorrow, but they needed to recon the museum first to see what they were walking in to.  
  
"So, how was it?" Skye slid up next to Peggy as she sat on the couch.  
  
"How was what?" Peggy asked, not looking up from her file.  
  
Skye rolled her eyes "Oh, come on, we both know what I'm taking about," she said "I saw you last night,"  
  
"Nothing happened last night." Peggy said.  
  
"Dude, I thought you were gonna do it against the door," Skye deadpanned.  
  
Peggy finally looked up from the file "Skye, I am not discussing this with you,"  
  
"Gah!" Skye yelled "You're as bad as May and Coulson!"  
  
Peggy smirked slightly and patted her knee "Better luck next time," she said and stood up, walking over to the control room.

* * *

"These are comms, put them in your ear and we'll be able to hear everything you say, and vice versa," May said and handed them one each.  
  
"You'll each get ICERs," Fitz said "One shot and it will put someone out for about an hour,"  
  
"Take a real gun as well," Coulson said, handing them Glocks "I don't need to tell you that things can go real south real fast,"  
  
"No, you don't," Peggy replied.  
  
"We're not planning on taking down HYDRA today, just get in and out," May said.  
  
"If things do go pear-shaped," said Coulson "We'll be five minutes off,"  
  
Peggy and Daniel nodded "You done anything like this before?"  
  
"I guess we'll find out once we're in there, won't we?" Peggy replied.  
  
"Do we even know what this thing looks like?" asked Daniel. Out of all the information they were given, they had no idea what exactly they were looking for.  
  
Coulson shook his head "Unfortunately, no. But I'm sure it won't we hard to identify,"

* * *

The next night was the night of the gala. They had hired two adjacent hotel rooms; one for Daniel and Peggy's cover, and one for the rest of the agents to set up. Daniel and Peggy were currently getting ready for the gala, with Skye who had already picked a dress for Peggy and a tux for Daniel, they were almost ready to go.  
  
"Are you ready, Daniel?" Peggy asked as she swung the door open and stepped out from the bedroom.  
  
When she didn't hear a reply, she looked up from adjusting her watch, and saw him standing there, his mouth agape and his eyes wide "What? What is it?" she asked him, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. She looked down at what she was wearing. A black singe shouldered floor-length gown, with a silver, metal belt and a slit up the side which gave her access to her ICER and her knife. Her silver pumps matched her belt and her clutch matched both.  
  
"Uh, nothing-no-you look-" he stopped himself before saying "You look beautiful," he said "Not that you don't always look beautiful, I'm just saying-"  
  
"Daniel," Peggy laughed softly at him and walked over to give him a chaste kiss "Thank you, and besides, you don't look to bad yourself," Daniel grinned as she smoothed out his silk lapels and then straightened his bow tie.  
  
"You ready for this?" Daniel asked her. Peggy just looked up and gave him a look, making him chuckle "Of course you are,"  
  
"Are you?" Peggy asked.  
  
Daniel nodded "As ready as I'll ever be," he replied and bent down to quickly peck her on the lips "Let's do this,"  
  
And with that, they walked out of the hotel and got in the town car that was waiting for them. As they put the comms in their ears and Peggy strapped her ICER and her knife to her leg, Daniel's started jumping up and down with nerves. After checking her Glock and concealing it in her clutch, she put her hand on his thigh, making it stop jumping, giving him a reassuring smile.  
  
A few minutes later, the town car pulled up out the front of the museum. Peggy took a deep breath before Daniel helped her out and took her by the crook of his elbow.  
  
This was it. Hopefully they didn't get blown up or shot in the process.


	8. Oh, Flip

"Alright," Peggy said, scanning the room "Dome cameras on every exit, security guards covering the south and the east exits,"  
  
Daniel looked around to confirm and took her by the hand, leading her out onto the dance floor "I'm guessing the stone isn't gonna be hidden in plain sight, not with it's power,"  
  
"Which means," Peggy said, as Daniel started twirling her around the dance floor "It'll be locked away somewhere,"  
  
"Ever picked a lock?" Daniel asked her.  
  
Peggy snorted "Please, I knew how to pick a lock by the time I was eleven," she replied "But they're not going to use a standard padlock, are they?"  
  
 _"Alright, I've got security feeds up and I can see the stone,"_ they heard Skye over the comms.  
  
"Where?" Daniel asked, dipping Peggy before bringing her up again.  
  
 _"South side, a floor below. You'll need the thumbprint of the curator to get in."_  
  
Peggy looked over Daniel's shoulder subtly, looking for the short, bald man that managed the museum "I see Alkaev," she said "I also see he's a scotch drinker,"  
  
"Ready to turn on the charm, Mrs Gordinski?" Daniel asked, a glint in his eye, making Peggy roll hers.  
  
"Please," she said, making Daniel smirk "Am I supposed to be English or American?" she asked them over the comms as they started to make their way over to Alkaev.  
  
 _"American,"_  
  
"Mr Alkaev!" Peggy began enthusiastically, taking the man by surprise "It's such an honor to be here tonight, you really know how to throw a party!"  
  
Alkaev stood up straighter as he was faced with the beautiful woman "Yes, thank you," he replied, his Russian accent, thick. He reminded them both of Dr. Ivchenko, the Leviathan hypnotist that killed Dooley "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your names," he said, politely.  
  
"Oh, right. Marcus Gordinski," he said, sticking out his hand for Alkaev to shake "And this is my wife Jennifer,"  
  
"Of course!" Alekaev replied, setting his scotch glass down on the table beside him and shaking Daniel hand, whilst kissing Peggy's. Peggy had to resist an eye roll, but kept smiling nonetheless "Jennifer, you look stunning!"  
  
"Thank you," she replied, trying her best to look flattered and embarrassed at the same time.  
  
"Well, it was nice to see you," Peggy said "But, if you'll excuse me, I do have to use the ladies room," she said and walked behind Alkaev, swiping the glass of the table and walking out of the ballroom and into an empty stairwell. Pulling out her compact and tape, she carefully removed the print from the glass and held in carefully, not to disturb the print.  
  
 _"You know there was an easier way to do that, right?"_ Skye asked, obviously watching her through the security feed.  
  
"Basics, young one. Basics," she said.  
  
 _"You realize you're only like two years older than me,"_ Skye said, but Peggy ignored her as she walked back out into the ballroom and put the glass back in it's previous spot on the table. Daniel had kept him occupied until that moment, but seemed relieved when she gave him the all clear.  
  
"Excuse me, Mr Alkaev, but I should really find my wife," he said "She always get's lost in museums; it's almost a personality trait,"  
  
Alkaev chuckled and shook his hand again, bidding him goodbye before Daniel joined her in the stairwell she had retreated back to "You get it?"  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes before holding up the print "Getting lost in museums is a personality trait?" she asked him incredulously, her hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow at him.  
  
"What? I said 'almost'," he defended, but smirking at her nonetheless before she rolled her eyes at him and brushed past him down the stairs.  
  
"Alright," said Peggy, opening the door the underground floor. They withdrew their ICERs, just in case they ran into any trouble on the way.  
  
Taking a few steps in they saw a fairly basic looking room with artifacts that were covered in sheets, and artwork set on the ground. It looked like a storage locker more than anything else.  
  
 _"Keep walking and you should see a door on your left,"_ Skye said _"It's in there,"_  
  
Peggy hummed in acknowledgement as they walked towards the door, guarded by a fingerprint scanner. Peggy lifted the print tape to the scanner and watched as the blue line traced it up and down. Suddenly there was a growl from behind them and someone had grabbed Daniel from behind, throwing him across the room onto the ground, sending his ICER flying.  
  
As Peggy whizzed around, she saw a man the size of an ogre. He lunged forward and pinned her up against the wall by her neck, only for her to deliver a swift blow to him stomach, and again.  
  
The man doubled over briefly, and Peggy tried to cross the room to Daniel, who was struggling to get to his feet slightly. But the man-ogre grabbed her by the waist, swinging her around and slamming her into the wall, leaving her to fall to the ground coughing.  
  
As Daniel was steady upright again, he jumped up and quickly kicked the man in the back with his metal leg, sending him forward onto the ground. Peggy got to her feet again as the man grabbed Daniel's ICER and shooting him twice in the chest, and Daniel fell down to the ground with a thud.  
  
"Daniel!" Peggy called out to him, slight panic in her voice. She was ready to pounce to him, but didn't get the chance - because the man wasn't finished.  
  
As he spun around to do the same to her, Peggy kicked the weapon out of his hands, sending it across the room out of both their reach. Before she could move out of the way, the man-ogre had her on the ground, his large hands around her neck, making her gasp for air.  
  
She tried clawing at his hands in a brief panic, but after a few seconds, reached for the knife on her thigh and stabbed it hard into his. He screamed out in pain and clutched at the knife in his leg, letting go of her neck, allowing her to use the knife as a lever to slide out in between his legs and swiftly stood up behind him.  
  
As he turned his head to look at her, she punched him hard, knocking him on all fours before delivering a swift kick to the back of his head - knocking him unconscious completely. She panted slightly as she half-jogged over to Daniel's unconscious body.  
  
 _"He'll be fine,"_ Skye said.  
  
"I could have used a little warning on that one, Skye," Peggy said as she rolled Daniel onto his back and checking his breathing.  
  
 _"I didn't see him,"_ she'd replied _"I was trained on the door, but May and Coulson are on their way for Sousa,"_  
  
Peggy nodded as she stood up and walked back over to the lock, trying to scan it again.  
  
 _"Peggy, you got four comin' in hot,"_ Skye told her and Peggy looked around. As she spotted a black baton with some sort of markings on it, she hid between two shelves.  
  
The four men came in with their guns raised, and Peggy watched as they ran straight for their unconscious friend. They were taken off guard when she jumped out from the shelves and smacked three of them in the face continuously before hitting the fourth's kneecaps. She hit them all once again, sending them on the floor before kicking one and simultaneously belting the other with the baton - knocking them both unconscious.  
  
As one managed to get to his feet again, she crouched down and kicked his feet out from under him, elbowing his nose and sending his skull cracking on the tiled floor. The last man groaned as he tried to stand to his feet, but Peggy just rolled her eyes, picked the ICER up from the other side of the room and shot him right between the eyes.  
  
 _"Holy shit!"_ Skye yelled over the comms, making Peggy flinch slightly at the sudden noise _"That was so badass!"_  
  
Peggy was still panting when she tried the door a third time. This time there were no interruptions as she scanned the print.  
  
 _Click._ They were in.  
  
Shoving the door open, they saw a single pedestal in the middle of the small-ish sized room. But what was sitting on the top of that pedestal, that was what made Peggy say aloud "Oh no,"  
  
 _"What?"_ Skye asked, concern lacing her voice _"What is it?"_  
  
"This isn't a stone," said Peggy as she walked closer to their target "This isn't a stone at all,"  
  
 _"What is it then?"_  
  
"Molecular Nitramine," she replied "They've weaponized it,"  
  
 _"How so?"_  
  
"Explosives." she replied "And a bomb this size will take out the whole building, even more,"  
  
 _"Okay, okay,"_ Skye replied _"I'll get FitzSimmons for you, they can help you disarm it,"_  
  
"No need," Peggy replied, picking it up gently and putting it in her clutch "Just get me some baking soda, vinegar and some bourbon, I'll meet you back at the hotel,"  
  
 _"What? You're just gonna walk outta there with a bomb in your purse?"_  
  
Peggy walked past Daniel, closing the door behind her as May and Coulson made their way in "Wouldn't be the first time,"  
  
"You sure you know what you're doing?" May asked her, pausing on her way past.  
  
"Of course," Peggy replied and walked back upstairs, as May and Coulson slipped into the room.

* * *

"Baking soda, vinegar and bourbon," Skye said as Peggy walked into the room.  
  
Peggy nodded her thanks before grabbing the supplies and making her way into the bathroom, just like she had the first time, Skye on her tail. Mixing the soda and the vinegar in the sink, she filled an empty air freshener can. Using a bobby pin from her hair, she carefully slid the core from the glass case, making it shake slightly.  
  
She could hear Skye behind her suck in a deep breath. As the nitramine started to expand, Peggy grabbed the air freshener and sprayed it gently until it diffused into a black core. She dropped the core into the sink and hunched over relieved, and she could hear Skye laugh in relief behind her.  
  
"Wait, what was the bourbon for?" Skye asked.  
  
Peggy grabbed the bottle and unscrewed the cap "Me," she said before taking a huge swig and holding it out for Skye "Never got to take a drink last time,"  
  
"Last time?" Skye asked after gulping down a mouthful and handing it back.  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes a little "I'll explain later," she said before sitting on the edge of the bathtub, taking another drink.

* * *

Daniel blinked at the soft light coming from his left. He made out the shape of a lamp next to the bed, he recognized as the one in the hotel suite. He grunted at the pain searing up his amputated leg and coughed lightly at the tightness in his chest. Feeling a weight on his hand, he turned his head to the other side to see a familiar brunette sound asleep.  
  
Peggy had her hand grasping his tightly, her head resting on the bed next to it as she sat in the chair that had previously been in the corner. He smiled at her sleeping form, looking peaceful next to him, and used his other hand to reach across and stroke the hair softly out of her face.  
  
He noticed that she'd changed out of her formal clothes and he was wearing his boxers and undershirt, though everything else had been removed - including his brand new leg.   
  
Stirring slightly, his attention snapped back to her, as she started to wake. She lifted her head before she opened her eyes, which was something he smiled at, and sucked in a deep breath as she looked up at him.  
  
"Hey," Daniel said softly, an equally soft smile gracing his features.  
  
Peggy returned his smile "How are you feeling?" she asked.  
  
"Chest hurts a little," he admitted, earning a small nod of understanding "Nothin' too serious,"  
  
"Well, you took a pretty serious hit back there," Peggy replied, worry all over her face "How's your leg?"  
  
Daniel shrugged "Hurts no more than usual,"  
  
"And how much is 'usual'?" she pressed, her brow furrowing, and Daniel knew she was truly worried about him.  
  
He squeezed the hand that was laced through his and looked her right in the eye "Peg, I'm fine," he said as he sat up against the pillows, leaning back slightly.  
  
He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't believe him, but seemed to take the response anyway by lifting his hand to her lips and kissing his knuckles softly then leaning over and pressing her lips to his.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she rest her forehead against his, her eyes cast downward.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey," he said, pulling away just enough so he could lift her chin with his finger to make her look at him "This wasn't your fault,"  
  
"I should've had your back," she replied, shaking her head. He knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that she should've seen the guy coming from outside the room. She was thinking that she needed to protect him. She was thinking that she had failed him.   
  
It was something he had learnt about Peggy over the last few months; she was fiercely loyal and protective, and she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders - bearing the burden for everyone she could.  
  
He reached up and cupped her face in his hands "Don't even think for a minute that you let me down," he said, pulling her in for another chaste kiss. It was short and sweet, but it was firm and it told her everything he felt.  
  
Pulling away, Peggy smiled at him as she sat back in the chair and he could tell that she was getting tired. She wasn't as poised as she usually was, she was slouching - Peggy Carter doesn't slouch - and her eyes had drooped a little.  
  
Daniel moved over to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers where he previously sat, gesturing for her to get in. She hesitated for a moment before getting and and sliding ever-so-gracefully into the bed, letting her head sink into the pillow as she turned towards him.  
  
He slid back down so he was laying right next to her and draped an arm around her waist, watching as her eyelids fell heavy. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her tighter as she shuffled closer to him.  
  
He had never pegged her for the cuddly type, but he'd been so wrong on that account and couldn't help but smile as she lightly clung to his shirt.  
  
After a few minutes, he felt her breathing even out and leaned over to turn off the lamp. He closed his eyes, listening to the rhythm of her breathing, starting to drift off himself - until he heard the British voice, so faint he almost missed it.  
  
"I'll always have your back,"  
  
His heart fluttered at her words. He always knew they were true (with a brief intermission when she was arrested), he'd never doubt that. But something about those words told him there was something deeper to her meaning. He laid there for a moment, wondering what it was, but opted to replying with an equally soft whisper.  
  
"And I'll always have yours,"  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna put Ward or Agent 33 in this scene but it didn't really turn out that way. I'll have them in future chapters, I promise - SWW's probably won't be happy with the outcome but who cares.


	9. Seriously?

"The men that attacked you last night, weren't HYDRA," said Skye, making Peggy and Daniel frown. They were in the control room of the Bus, standing around the holotable as they were debriefed "They were working security for Alkaev,"  
  
"So, what, they didn't even show up?" Daniel asked, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
"Either that," May started, cocking her head momentarily "Or we beat them to it,"  
  
Peggy nodded before leaning on the table "What I want to know is how Alkaev got a hold of Howard's formula for molecular nitramine and why they weaponized it they way it was in 1946, it's hardly a coincidence,"  
  
"Wait, so you've seen that exact same design?"  
  
"Yes," said Peggy "A Russian organization named Leviathan stole the formula from Howard and weaponized it. I thought I had diffused the only one created, but as it turns out, there were hundreds made,"  
  
"What're the effects?" Coulson asked.  
  
"How far back does that inter-thing go?" Peggy asked Skye, making her smirk, stifling a laugh.  
  
"As far back as you want it to," she replied, not bothering to correct her.  
  
"In 1946, there was an oil company called Roxxon," she explained "It exploded,"  
  
"Fused into a rock is more like it," Daniel added as Skye started typing, bringing up reports and old photos of the explosion "I saw it, Krzeminski tried to get me to pull it apart," he shook his head "Douche face," he muttered.  
  
"Jesus Christ," Coulson said as they looked at the massive rock of Roxxon.  
  
"That was caused by one of those bombs," said Peggy "After it explodes, it creates a vacuum effect, sucking everything back in on itself,"  
  
"What'd you do with the rest of them?" May asked her.  
  
"They were stored in a truck, which ran into a lake," Peggy replied and Skye had already looked for any other incidences involving the bombs, which meant she found the lake - or lack of one.  
  
"Bye-bye lake," Daniel muttered.  
  
"After the investigation into Howard was cleared, he destroyed everything - including that formula," said Peggy "So how the bloody hell did it end up in the hands of HYDRA, seventy years later?"  
  
"Well, technically, it's not in the hands of HYDRA," Daniel added, making Peggy roll her eyes at him.  
  
"We don't have an answer for you on that," Skye said "But we believe HYDRA's packed up and gone home,"  
  
"So, what now?" asked Peggy "We do the same?"  
  
"Until we locate them again," May said with a single nod "For now, there are others who need us,"

* * *

It had been a long trip back to the Playground, and Peggy was restless. As soon as the bus landed, she was off, and no one had seen her leave. She had a pretty good memory of the city, and found it fairly easy to make her way around it.  
  
Walking into the Stark Tower, she passed the front desk and made her way up to the common area where she'd met the rest of the Avengers. She stepped out on the floor and looked around, but jumped, startled, when the phone in her back pocket started vibrating. She took it out and looked at the screen, seeing Skye's name pop-up with a photo of herself.  
  
"Someone important?" she heard Natasha's voice from the kitchen, looking over at her curiously. Her head snapped up at the phone briefly, before looking down at it again and pressing 'decline'.  
  
"Uh, no, not really," she replied as she took a few steps towards the kitchen, placing the phone on the counter cautiously.  
  
"Still getting used to it, huh?" Natasha smirked, and Peggy nodded in affirmation "Don't worry, it took Rogers a while to get the hang of it too," Peggy smiled her gratitude as she took a seat on the stool "So, what brings you here anyway? Rogers?"  
  
"Actually, no," she replied "I'm here to see Anthony,"  
  
"Stark?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at her "Why would you willingly subject yourself to that?"  
  
Peggy chuckled at her before shrugging slightly "Something tells me he'd act a little different around me,"  
  
Natasha snorted "Yeah, maybe you can put him in line," she replied and they fell into a small silence, before Natasha perked up again "Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Of course,"  
  
"Steve is my best friend," she started "And I know how much you mean to him, I know how much he loves you..." she said and Peggy's face softened slightly "Are you planning on sticking around?"  
  
"I understand your concern, Agent Romanov," Peggy replied, giving her a small smile "But I have no intention on just disappearing on Steve," she said, making Natasha relax slightly "As for if we're staying here in the present...we haven't decided yet,"  
  
"Thank you," Natasha said, nodding her appreciation "And it's Natasha," she smiled.  
  
"Then call me Peggy,"  
  
"So who's the guy you came here with?" asked Natasha, a mischievous gleam in her eye.  
  
"Who? Daniel?" Peggy asked her, earning a nod in return "He's a colleague and a...friend,"  
  
Natasha raised an eyebrow "A _'friend'_? Really?"  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes as she replied "You should meet Skye, you'd get along wonderfully,"

* * *

"She's not answering," said Skye as she paced Coulson's office, where she, May, Coulson and Daniel stood "What if she's in trouble?"  
  
"What trouble could she possibly be in?" May asked her.  
  
"I don't know, but the word 'alien' is in our daily vocabulary, so it's not really a stretch,"  
  
"Where would she have gone?" Daniel asked "I mean, it's not like she knows her way around New York City, not anymore,"  
  
"No, but she knows her way to Stark Tower," May replied "I'm willing to bet anything that's where she went,"  
  
"Why would she go there?" Skye asked as she stopped pacing and looked over at her incredulously.  
  
Before either could reply, Daniel spoke up "Because the one person that might have information on molecular nitramine lives in that tower,"  
  
"Stark," Skye caught on "But why would she go alone?"  
  
"You don't know Peggy," Daniel said, shaking his head slightly "She prefers doing things alone, and she knows more about the nitramine than any of us,"  
  
"If she's not back in a couple of hours, we'll go out looking for her," Coulson started "But for now, there's no reason for alarm. So until then, focus on tracking down HYDRA,"  
  
As Daniel and Skye made their way out of his office, Melinda looked over at Phil "Any news on Raina?" she asked after they were out of earshot.  
  
Phil sighed "Not yet," he replied, taking a seat behind his desk "But, we shouldn't alarm Skye, not now,"  
  
"You know keeping things from her is a bad idea," Melinda said, taking a few gradual steps towards his desk "We've been through this before,"  
  
"That was different," Phil replied "You and I both know that if Skye knew Raina vanished into thin air, it wouldn't end well, for any of us,"  
  
May shook her head slightly "You don't give her enough credit," she said quietly "She's changing, and so far she's handled it pretty well,"  
  
"Maybe, but we don't know what she's changing into,"  
  
"I believe you called her an alien once," May replied, half mocking, half scolding him for saying such a thing.   
  
Phil didn't reply, only sighed under his breath and May started to walk to the door, only to turn back when she heard his voice call out "Melinda," She looked at him expectantly, her expression neutral with a hint of being pissed off "I know how good you are at keeping secrets," he started, and he could see the hurt in her eyes as he said it, making him grimace as she turned back towards the door "Wait-Melinda, I didn't mean that-"  
  
"Don't worry, _sir_ , I'll keep your secret," May replied, anger seething from her pores, her walls rebuilding themselves twice as high and twice as thick as they'd been before "But just so you know, if Skye asks; I'm not lying to her," and with that, she stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Phil scolded himself as he slumped back in his chair. She called him 'sir'. She never calls him 'sir', not anymore. He knew he'd always asked a lot of her, and she never complained. Even when he ordered her to put a bullet in between his eyes, she never complained. He knew how hard that was for her, for him to ask her to shoot him.  
  
She's been the protective one. The one that would do anything to keep those around her safe, even if it meant putting him down. Even if it meant lying to him, keeping the truth from his so he wouldn't go out of his mind.  
  
But he'd just used that against her, and that was worse than anything he'd ever done to her. All he could do was pray that she would forgive him.

* * *

As Peggy made her way up to the 98th floor, where Natasha told her Stark would be, she was met with a familiar face as he stepped into the elevator.  
  
"Peg," Steve smiled as he stood next to her, wearing a charcoal grey dress shirt with a black collar, and black dress pants.  
  
"Steve," she smiled back at him, taking in the sight of him dressed up "Don't you look handsome,"  
  
Steve adjusted the collar around his neck as a blush started to creep up onto his cheeks, making Peggy chuckle softly "I, uh, I asked Maria out on a date,"  
  
Peggy's smile widened at his nervousness "I'm happy for you," She really was.  
  
Steve looked over at her and smiled "Thank you," he said quietly "That means a lot," She just smiled and placed a hand on his elbow, giving it a reassuring squeeze as the elevator doors opened "Right, well, this is where I pick her up, so...wish me luck," he said as he stepped out of the elevator, only to turn back when heard her talk again.  
  
"You don't need luck, Steve," Peggy replied, giving his a small smile "You just need to be yourself,"  
  
"Right," he nodded, trapping the doors open with his hand "The kid from Brooklyn who was too much of a moron to run away from a fight," he said in a terrible British accent as he quoted her word-for-word, making her outright laugh at him.  
  
"Exactly," she replied, shaking her head slightly "Well, don't make her wait, I know what it's like to be stood up," she said playfully, fully intending for it to be a joke, but Steve gave her a sad smile and kissed her on the cheek softly before giving her one last smile and walking off towards an apartment door down the hall.  
  
The elevator doors closed and Peggy stood up straight as it continued up the 98th floor. When the doors opened again with a 'ding', she stepped out on to the floor and walked straight for the man fliddling with a metal helmet.  
  
"Anthony," she said, and he dropped the helmet in his hands and stood up straight, facing her quickly.  
  
"Peggy," he replied, a smile planted on his face "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what brings you to this neck of the woods?"  
  
"I actually need you help," she replied "It was something your father was working on back in '46,"  
  
Tony nodded and beckoned her to follow him. As she took a seat at the table in the middle of the room, he went over to the wall and opened a hidden safe "Everything Dad kept from the second half of the 20th century, I keep in here, including files from Project Rebirth, is that what you're after?"  
  
"No, actually," said Peggy "Howard destroyed a certain formula in 1946, but somehow it resurfaced and been weaponized in 2015,"  
  
"Molecular Nitramine," Tony replied, earning a questioning look from Peggy "When I was fifteen, I found a file in his things, he said to stay away from it, said it was too dangerous for anyone, even us,"  
  
Peggy nodded at his explanation "That would be correct," she replied "Unfortunately, with the formula resurfacing and the advanced technology of the 21st century, who knows what it could create..." she explained to him as he walked back over with a file in his hands, dropping it in front of her as he took a seat next to her.  
  
"That's everything left on Molecular Nitramine," he said as she opened the bare file "It's not much, and there's no formula, but..."  
  
"If Howard could figure it out, someone else could have," Peggy finished, before looking up at him "Have you studied it?"  
  
Tony hesitated for a moment before nodding "Yeah," he said "After he died, I wanted to know why it couldn't be used for our armed forces and military," he said and bringing up the hologram in front of them "That was until I found out it's effects,"  
  
Peggy looked at the formula in front of her "I may not have agreed with him on a lot of things, but this..." he shook his head as he spoke "This should never have been created in the first place,"  
  
"Can you help us find it?"

* * *

So far, their date had been going quite well. Steve had taken Maria to a restaurant down the road from the Tower, where they sat outside under the fairy lights that were strung around trees and railings.  
  
When he'd picked her up at the beginning, he had to remind himself to pick his jaw up off the floor as soon as he saw her. She had work a tight fitting navy blue dress that finished about five inches above the knee as her hair fell in loose curls around the lace Queen Anne neckline. Steve could tell that she didn't wear much make-up, not that she needed to in his eyes, only a bit of light foundation, eyeliner on her top eyelid and some mascara.  
  
Maria talked about stories from her S.H.I.E.L.D. training with May and sometimes Coulson. She talked about her military training and her time working as a fighter pilot in Iraq whilst on a S.H.I.EL.D. assignment. He talked about Bucky and his time in the war, meeting Peggy and the Howling Commandos.  
  
He noticed that she didn't talk about her family, and whenever the topic came up, she'd change it almost immediately. As he walked her back to the Tower, he gave her his jacket as he noticed small goosebumps over her arms.

When they reached her apartment in the Tower, she turned to him "Thank you, Steve, I had a really nice time tonight," she said softly as she handed him back his jacket.  
  
He smiled "Yeah, me too," he nodded as he looked into her blue eyes. They stood there for a moment, as Steve glanced down at her lips, not-so-subtly. Steve inched closer as he looked back at her eyes, until Maria grabbed his collar and pulled him down to press their lips together. Steve took a second to respond, before kissing back and wrapping his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss.  
  
As Maria opened her mouth to let his tongue in, her arms found their way up into his hair and neck. Steve pulled her closer so their bodies were flushed together, causing him to moan involuntary. When they finally broke for air, Maria let out a nervous chuckle as she took a step back and a moment to compose herself "Wow," she said.  
  
Steve smiled as the blush from her neck rose to her cheeks in a deep shade of red "I don't know if I told you this already, but, uh...you look beautiful,"  
  
Maria looked up at him and smiled "Thank you," she replied "You don't look too bad yourself,"  
  
"I'll let you go, now," said Steve "But I'll...uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah," said Maria, a smile on her face "I'll see you tomorrow,"  
  
Steve gave a dopey grin before taking a few steps back towards the direction of the elevator "Goodnight, Maria,"  
  
"Goodnight, Steve," she replied as she opened her apartment and stepped inside. As she threw her keys and her phone on the kitchen bench, the lamp in the corner suddenly turned on.  
  
Maria was getting ready to attack when she spun and saw Natasha smirking in the chair in the corner "Jesus fucking Christ!" Maria yelled out "What the fuck Natasha?"  
  
"What? I heard you had a date," the red head shrugged.  
  
"And you just sit in the dark until someone walks in?" Maria asked her, raising a eyebrow.  
  
"No, I wait until I hear you come home and then I sit in the chair and turn off the light," she explained, standing up and walking towards her "It's more dramatic that way," Maria rolled her eyes at her friend as she took her heels off and threw them by the door "So?" Natasha asked hopefully "How'd it go?"  
  
"Good, really good,"


	10. What Is It?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much just fluff with Philinda and Cartousa. Enjoy.

Phil knocked on the door of the cockpit, looking to find the one person he couldn't stand to have angry with him. There was no answer, but he slipped inside anyway, only to find her rigid in the pilot's chair.  
  
He didn't say anything at first, he only stood in the doorway, but he elicited no response. After a few moments, however, he stepped further in as he closed the door behind him, and sank down into the co-pilots chair.  
  
He saw her visibly tense - as if it were possible to tense more than she already had. She stared straight out into the hangar of the playground as he watched her from his position.  
  
"Melinda..." he started, only to be cut short.  
  
"You died." she stated, her voice full of anger and resentment, but her eyes didn't move.  
  
Phil sucked in a breath, nodding "I did, it must've been hard-"  
  
"It was hell." she replied, finally turning to face him, her eyes portraying the anger in her voice. She gave him a hard glare for a few more moments, through the silence of the cockpit, before moving her head back to it's original position facing forward.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said genuinely, leaning on his elbows towards her "I'm sorry that you went through that, losing someone you cared about,"  
  
"I didn't just _care_ about you, Phil," Melinda said quietly before looking at him again, the gentle voice vanishing "And then HYDRA happened, and you ordered me to kill you,"  
  
"That wasn't fair of me," Phil said softly, looking into her eyes "I'm sorry,"  
  
"No, it wasn't," her voice wavered ever-so-slightly, and anyone else would've missed it, but Phil noticed that she never took her eyes away from his.  
  
"I could keep telling you that I'm sorry for the rest of our lives, but nothing would make up for what I've put you through," he stated, reaching over and resting a hand on her knee.  
  
Her knee was tingling at the sensation of his hand, but she pushed it down as she replied "Just don't die again,"  
  
Coulson gave her a lopsided grin "Anything for you," May rolled her eyes and him, but couldn't help the small smile that twitched at the corners of her mouth "Well, Carter finally called Skye back, she's on her way now," Phil replied, hesitantly taking his hand off her knee.  
  
Melinda nodded at him "Thanks," she replied, her eyes glancing at the space his hand previously sat.  
  
"Come on," he said, bouncing to his feet and holding his hands out to her "Dinner's almost ready I think, and Trip's cooking,"  
  
Melinda smirked as she took his hands for support she didn't really need, but glad they were there "Oh, thank God," she said "Because I seriously can't go another night with Bobbi's so-called 'food',"   
  
Phil chuckled as she stood up, though when she did, she ended up closer to him than intended. Their bodies brushing together as their faces mere inches apart. As he looked into her eyes, he felt his heart start to beat faster and pulled her into an unexpected hug.  
  
He felt her stiffen for a moment and Phil thought he'd made a mistake, but then she responded and wrapped her arms around his waist "Don't die again," she whispered, her chin resting on his shoulder.  
  
"Never," he whispered back. They stood there for a minute or two before pulling back, but not letting go. As he looked back into her eyes, he leaned closer, as if to put his forehead on hers, but not quite touching "I love you," he said, his voice cracking, ever-so-slightly.  
  
Melinda shook her head "Don't say that,"  
  
"I love you," he repeated.  
  
"You can't say that-"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because it's not the same!" she yelled back, pulling back from him, and taking two steps out of his grasp.  
  
He stood there for a moment "What do you mean 'it's not the same'?" he frowned.  
  
"Because you're in love with Audrey and one day you can tell her everything and I'll support you all the way. Whatever makes you happy, I'll support you, but you can't say that,"  
  
"Mel-"  
  
"I'll be your friend, and I'll always have your back, but you can't say something that we have two different meanings for each other," said Melinda "Because my meaning of the word for you is what you have for Audrey, and I can't-"  
  
Her sentence was cut short by his lips crashing onto hers, and her back being pushed against the door of the cockpit. His hands moved to tangle in her hair, and his lips firm but gentle on hers.  
  
She pulled at his collar as he deepened the kiss, gliding his tongue into her mouth, eliciting a small moan from the slightly shorter woman. They stood like that, against the door for what felt like hours, until she pushed him away "Wait, wait - what about Audrey?"  
  
"What about her?" Phil asked, confused.  
  
Melinda sighed, pushing him further away and standing up straight "Phil, I'm not your replacement for her,"  
  
"You're right, you're not," he said "In fact, it was the other way round,"  
  
Melinda sighed again, exasperated this time "What?"  
  
"Melinda, I fell in love with you when we were in the academy," he said, shaking his head "I never thought I had a chance with you, and I was right," he explained "Because the next thing I know, you'd eloped and you were married,"  
  
Melinda swallowed as she folded her arms across her chest "I didn't know you felt that way,"  
  
"Yeah, well, you learn to live with it after a decade or two," he replied, giving her a small, sad smile "So I moved on with Audrey - well, at least I tried,"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" she asked him.  
  
Phil shrugged "Because, like I said, you were married, and then Bahrain happened..." he replied "It look me a long time just to get you to talk to me again, to get you to say something,"  
  
Melinda shifted on her feet and averted her gaze "I couldn't-"  
  
"I know," he replied softly "I figured if you knew, you'd close off from me for good, and you were too important for me to let that happen,"  
  
Melinda sighed softly before closing the gap between them and pulling him down by his tie. This kiss was slower, with more emotion and more feeling. He wrapped his hands around her waist as hers wrapped around his neck. They didn't know how much time had past until they were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Skye's voice.  
  
"Hey, you two, dinner's ready if you wanna come out and get some," she said before they heard her footsteps fade until they couldn't hear her anymore.  
  
"Skye's gonna freak," Phil groaned, making Melinda chuckle and lean up to peck his lips once more before pulling back and opening the door, walking out of the cockpit, Phil hot on her tail "I mean, unless we don't tell her..."  
  
"Phil..." Melinda warned giving him a sidewards glance as he matched her strides "No more secrets, remember?"  
  
Phil sighed "I know, I know,"  
  
"If it makes you feel any better, we'll just let them figure it out on their own," she told him as they made their way out of the bus and toward the dining area.  
  
"I can live with that," Phil grinned.

* * *

When Peggy arrived back at the Playground, Daniel was the first to greet her, then pull her away from everyone else. He dragged her into the nearest room, which turned out to be a supply closet - and started berating her as soon as the door was closed.  
  
"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" he asked, louder than normal.  
  
"Daniel..."  
  
"No, you ran off and I had no idea where you were," he continued "Something could've happened to you, and I would've had no idea where you were or what-"  
  
"Daniel-"  
  
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? This isn't 1946, Peggy-"  
  
"Daniel-"  
  
"Everything's different, who knows what could've happened if you took one wrong turn-"  
  
She cut him off, crashing her lips against his, making him knock into a wall of shelves - rattling it slightly. She pressed her body flush against his as the kiss turned feverish, her hands roaming over his chest before starting to unbutton his shirt.   
  
Her leg started to run up his, her hips grinding as she pulled at the shoulders of his shirt, throwing it to the floor. His hands ran over her back before gliding lower over her ass, making her moan involuntary. He gripped at her cheek to keep her steady against him and moved his other hand to drift up her side, his thumb grazing over her left breast.  
  
His mouth detached from hers and moved to her neck, sucking on her pulse point as he unzipped her blouse and pulled it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She steadied herself against his bare chest as he started sucking his way up to her jawline and back up to her lips.  
  
As she reached for his belt buckle, he pulled back "Wait," he said.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, worry all over her face.  
  
"We shouldn't do this," he said as her leg slid back down to the ground.  
  
Peggy nodded quickly and put her blouse back on, taking steps back from him and rushing out the door before he could call her back.  
  
Daniel sighed as he put his shirt back on, and walked out the door only to be face-to-face with a smirking Skye "Dinner's ready if you're hungry," she said and walked off towards the dining area.

* * *

All through dinner, Peggy hadn't looked at or spoken to Daniel. She'd avoided him at all costs, sitting at the opposite end of the table and not saying a word unless addressed directly.  
  
Skye noticed, May noticed, but Daniel was sure that the rest of them were too caught up in their own world to realize anything was wrong. After dinner was finished, Daniel had caught Peggy in her room and knocked twice on the door frame, alerting her of his presence.  
  
"Daniel," she acknowledged, though didn't look at him as she pretended to play with her phone (Daniel could tell she was faking because she had no idea how to use it).  
  
"Peg..." he started and closed the door behind him, making her look up at him from the bed with a blank expression.  
  
"It's alright, Agent Sousa," she started, looking back down at her phone. Ouch. _Agent Sousa._ "I don't need an explanation,"  
  
"Peggy," he tried again, taking a couple steps towards her.  
  
"There's nothing to say, Daniel," she started, glancing at him again "You're not interested,"  
  
Daniel raised his eyebrows "Not interested?" he asked disbelievingly "Are you kiddin' me?" Peggy looked away from him as he sat down on the bed next to her "Ya know, for the smartest woman I've ever met, you are pretty stupid sometimes,"  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes and stood up off the bed "I don't have time for this-"  
  
Daniel grabbed her hand and pulled her hard so she fell on his lap, straddling him haphazardly "Daniel!" she scolded and tried standing up again, only for his arms to wrap around her tightly. She tried pushing off his shoulders, but got nowhere.  
  
"Peggy, you think I don't want to be with you?" he asked, frowning "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Peggy huffed and finally looked at him as he continued "But did you really think I wanted our first time to be in a closet?" Peggy's gaze softened as she looked into his eyes "You deserve better than that,"  
  
"And you deserve better than me," Peggy's replied quietly, averting her gaze again.  
  
Daniel frowned and shook his head "Don't even think it," he said and lent up to kiss her slowly, sensually. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she pushed him back onto the bed so she was on top of him, straddling his hips.   
  
Peggy wasted no time in getting her blouse off this time and Daniel followed suit with his shirt. As Daniel started working at her jeans with his hands, he also started working on her neck with his tongue. He finally pulled her jeans down and she was able to kick them away as she stood up off the bed.  
  
As he saw her standing there in front of him, his eyes went wide and he swallowed. She stood in front of him in her purple lace matching underwear that Skye had bought her.   
  
When she saw him staring she paused, worried "What is it?"  
  
"You..." he breathed and stood up abruptly, wrapping an arm around her waist and cupping the back of her head as he crashed their lips together. He spun them around and fell onto the bed so he was on top of her, and started trailing kisses down her throat and collarbone.  
  
Peggy moaned as his mouth reached in between her breasts "Maybe I should dress down for you more often," she joked huskily.  
  
Daniel looked up at her with a wicked grin on his face "Absolutely,"


	11. For the Love of God, Howard!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since I updated but I'm back now, and I hope you enjoy!

"Daniel!" Peggy yelled from the en suite of her room before stalking back into the bedroom. Daniel propped up on the bed with his elbows behind him and smirked as he saw her standing in her underwear with matching bruises around her collarbone and neck.  
  
"Did you pick a fight?" he asked her jokingly, only to have a pillow thrown hard in his face with a loud thud. Daniel laughed as he sat up properly, starting to reach for her.  
  
"This isn't funny, Daniel," said Peggy, trying to slap his hands away, but they got a hold of her hips and pulled her down on top of him.  
  
"Well, I think purple suits you," he responded, laying her down on the bed next to him so he could hover over her slightly.  
  
"Do you know how hard it will be to cover these up?" she asked, trying to maintain her annoyed facade.  
  
Daniel shrugged and put his other arm on the other side of her head so she was trapped underneath him "Then don't," he replied, leaning down and capturing her lips softly.  
  
Peggy moaned as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and slid her leg up to hang over his hip. After a few minutes, Daniel pulled back and looked at her "You are so beautiful," he breathed.  
  
She smiled and brought her thumb up to run along his lower lip "Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Of course," he replied, his fingers trailing up and down her side.  
  
"Do you miss it? Your crutch," she asked him, earning a small chuckle in return.  
  
"Not even a little bit," he replied "It still feels weird, being able to walk without it, but I sure as hell don't miss it,"  
  
"Good," she replied, earning a questioning look, she elaborated "Maybe we should stay,"  
  
"In the future?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.  
  
"Well, technically it's not the future, it's the present - never mind," she started "I know you miss Jack and I miss Angie and Jarvis, and even Howard..." she said, shaking her head "But if we go back, we forget everything, this - us. And I'm not ready to do that, I'm not ready to lose you,"  
  
Daniel sighed and sat up, Peggy following suit "I don't know, Peg," he shook his head "I want us as much as you do, but if we stay, we miss everything," he said "We miss building S.H.I.E.L.D. We miss seeing the look on Thompson's face when we leave the SSR to do it..." Peggy gave him a small smile at that "I want to be here with you, I'd choose you over anything...but what happens if we stay? Do we join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Do we go out and live a normal life?"  
  
"I don't believe we know the meaning of the word," Peggy replied, earning a soft chuckle in return "This is a new beginning, and I know it's not ideal, being 70 years ahead of our time, but the world has changed so much - for the better,"

Daniel sighed softly and looked over at her "And you want to stay?"  
  
Peggy nodded "I do," she said quietly.  
  
Daniel returned her nod and replied "Okay,"  
  
"Okay, what?"  
  
"Okay," he repeated "Let's stay,"  
  
"Really?" she asked, a smile gracing her features.  
  
"Peg, I don't care where we are," he said, turning his body so he was facing her, his hands on the outsides of her thighs "As long as we're together, and if going back means we can't be then I want to stay right here,"  
  
Suddenly Peggy grabbed either side of his face and crashed her lips against his, deepening it instantly.

* * *

"Why are you wearing a scarf?" Skye eyed Peggy as she walked into the dining area the next morning. Skye knew exactly why she was wearing a scarf, but that wasn't going to stop her.  
  
"It's cold," said Peggy simply as she sat down next to Daniel. He'd left earlier and gone back to his room before anyone noticed and they'd come down separately.  
  
"Not in here," she replied, leaning back in her chair, smirking into her coffee cup.  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes as Trip and Bobbi snickered and May smirked from her place by the coffee pot. Daniel had a dark shade of crimson rising from his neck to his cheeks which did nothing for the situation.  
  
"That's a nice color," Skye continued "Purple looks good on you,"  
  
Daniel choked on his coffee, spluttering as Peggy rolled her eyes and the rest continued to snicker at them. Peggy glared at the girl before grabbing the tea May passed her.  
  
"So, have you guys given any more thought to going back?" May asked them, deciding to give them mercy.  
  
"We talked about that last night, actually," said Peggy.  
  
Daniel nodded "Yeah, we uh, we've decided to stay," he said, putting a hand on her knee under the table.  
  
Skye let out a loud screech of excitement and ran over to them, putting her arms around both of them and pulling them into an awkward hug "This is so exciting," she said and as she pulled back, she grabbed a hold of Peggy's scarf, pulling it off her neck.  
  
"Oi!" she cried out, only for Skye to double down laughing.  
  
"Jesus Christ, Sousa, you really went to town, didn't you?" Skye said.  
  
Peggy rolled her eyes as May perked up "You're adapting to the 21st century quite well, then,"  
  
As she looked over at Daniel, Peggy saw him squirming quite uncomfortably in his seat, making her smirk slightly and put a hand on his thigh in comfort.  
  
"What's the deal with you two anyway?" Bobbi asked.  
  
Peggy and Daniel looked at each other before looking back at their expectant faces. Peggy opened her mouth a few times to reply, but nothing came out.  
  
"We, uh-" Daniel started, but stopped due to having no clue what to say.  
  
"Good morning, Team Coulson," they heard a familiar cocky voice as he strolled into the dining area.  
  
"Anthony," Peggy replied "That was fast,"  
  
"Fast is the only way I do things," he replied, rolling his eyes when everyone else snickered "You know what I mean - woah, nice hickeys!" he laughed to himself "Mind you, it's still a little weird - you being my godmother and everything,"  
  
"Uh, Daniel this is Tony Stark, Anthony this is Daniel Sousa," Peggy said, changing the subject.  
  
"Uncle Danny?" Tony asked, his eyebrows raising into his hairline "You're both here?"  
  
" _Uncle Danny?_ " Daniel asked "I'm the uncle of Stark's kid?"  
  
"Looks like it," said Peggy, looking between the two men "Can we get on with it? Or do you two need a moment?"  
  
"No, uh, no I'm good," Tony said, passing her a tablet.  
  
"What is it?" Peggy asked, holding it out in front of her like she had done with the phone.  
  
"You press this button here," Tony showed her how to turn it on before bringing up the images of Howard's vault "This is a photograph of Howard Stark's vault before the robbery," he said before flicking through a few images and stopping on another one "This one is of the vault after he said he'd destroyed everything,"  
  
"Well, he wasn't lying," said Daniel, leaning over Peggy's shoulder "Every invention's gone,"  
  
"That's what I thought, but then I looked closer and..." Tony zoomed in on the photo.  
  
"What is that? A safe?" asked Peggy, looking at the concealed metal in the wall.  
  
"I don't know but I still have the house," Tony said "I figured we could go check it out,"  
  
"You kept the house?" Daniel asked.  
  
"It was in his will, wanted me to keep it," Tony said "I still don't know why,"  
  
"Maybe you can find something there," May said "Trip go with them, I'll let Coulson know,"  
  
"You're not coming, Melly?" Tony asked her, making her glare at him.  
  
"One, don't call me Melly, and two, no because Coulson and I have real jobs," she jabbed at him.  
  
"You wound me," Tony said, clutching at his chest as he watched her walk away towards Coulson's office.  
  
"Hold up, you call her Melly and she didn't deck you?" Trip asked incredulously.  
  
Tony shrugged "We grew up together," he replied quite proudly "I get away with a lot of things,"

* * *

Walking through the mansion, it was dusty and dark. No one had lived there for years, evidently.  
  
"The safe was originally cut through from the floor above," said Peggy "Then they lowered the weapons into the waste line and floated it out on the stream,"  
  
"And then what?" asked Trip.  
  
"We found them on a boat in the harbor," said Daniel, making Peggy clear her throat not-so-subtly "Sorry, _Peggy_ found the inventions on a boat,"  
  
"Yes, well, that journey didn't end as well as I'd hoped," said Peggy absentmindedly as she searched the house.  
  
"Did you ever find the formula after it was stolen?" Tony asked.  
  
"Unfortunately, no," Peggy replied "It was believed to have been destroyed in the Roxxon explosion, so we never had to worry about it,"  
  
"Yeah, well, apparently not," said Trip as they reached the vault.  
  
"Here it is," said Peggy as she looked around the dusty vault covered in cobwebs and spiders. Tony walked straight to the safe in the back as he lit the torch on his phone.  
  
"Uh oh," they heard him say.  
  
"What?" Daniel asked as he walked over to him. Tony stood back to reveal the safe half open - someone had broken in - and the safe was empty "If Stark left the formula in here and someone broke in..."  
  
"Who knows who might have it," Tony finished, nodding.  
  
"I take it he didn't destroy the formula then," Peggy said, sighing "Bloody idiot,"  
  
"I'll call May," said Trip, taking his phone out of his back pocket "Maybe she can figure out who our thief was and why they would sell it to Alkaev," Peggy nodded to him before he left the vault to make the call.  
  
"For the love of God, Howard."

* * *

"That was Trip," May said, walking into Coulson's office "They believe the formula was in the safe."  
  
"Was?" Coulson asked, leaning back in his chair.  
  
May nodded "Yeah, the safe had been broken in to, it's empty."  
  
"Which means we have to find out exactly what was in the safe," Coulson said standing up from his chair and walking around to in front of the screen "How we do that? I have no idea. But in the meantime," he said, bringing up a security feed of the street where Raina went missing "This guy here, with the blue flash, he goes by Gordon."  
  
"How'd you find that out?" May asked crossing her arm and standing next to him.  
  
"I found it on some online forum," he replied "There's been reports of a guy with no eyes coming in and out in a flash - a blue flash."  
  
May sighed "If he can teleport, that means Raina could be anywhere, literally anywhere."  
  
Phil nodded "Exactly, there's pretty much no way we can find her."  
  
"We have to tell Skye." May turned to him, putting an hand on his forearm.  
  
"I know," he nodded "I just don't want to give her more bad news, she's been through so much, not just in the past eighteen months but her whole life."  
  
"Yes, she has," May nodded, sliding her hand down to his, linking her fingers loosely through his "Which is why the best thing you can do for her right now is give her the truth." Phil sighed and tightened the grip on her hand "You want me to tell her?" she asked him, sensing his hesitance.  
  
He gave her a small smile and leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips, lingering for a second before pulling back "I don't know what I'd do without you," he said softly, earning a small smile that matched his "But, no I should really tell her myself."  
  
May nodded "Okay," she replied, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand "She's strong, Phil. She'll be okay,"  
  
"I know," he smiled softly at her pulling her closer by the hand and wrapping his other one around her waist "She takes after you,"  
  
She smiled back at him as she brought her free hand up to the nape of his neck "I taught her to fight, Phil, that's all,"  
  
"No it's not and you know it," he said, drawing her closer against him, untangling their fingers and clasping his hands behind her back as she joined hers at his neck.  
  
"Phil..."  
  
Before she could say anything else, he cut her off, planting his lips on hers firmly. Melinda tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened.  
  
"I love you," Phil said, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes.  
  
"I love you too," Melinda replied quietly. Saying it aloud was strange for her, but Phil could say it so easily, like it was a part of his everyday routine. Yes, Melinda May did love Phil Coulson, but it might take some time in getting used to.

* * *

"Yo, Capsicle!" Steve heard from behind him. He internally groaned as he swiveled on the kitchen stool to face Clint "Heard you went on a date with Hill last night," he said as he sat down on the stool next to him.  
  
"Yes, I did," he replied skeptically "What's your point?"  
  
Clint shrugged "Nothing,"  
  
"Barton."  
  
"Look, Maria may be a pain in the ass sometimes..." he started "But she's _our_ pain in the ass, and if you ever hurt her..." looking Steve dead in the eye, he continued "I'll put an arrow in your junk," he said, deadly serious "You got it?"  
  
Steve swallowed slightly as he nodded "Clint, I have no intention of hurting Maria, you have my word,"  
  
Clint eyed him for a moment before nodding "You're lucky you're Captain frickin' America," he replied and stood up, walking away.  
  
Letting out a sigh of relief, Steve sagged until he saw her walk into the kitchen "Good morning, Maria," he said, his face lighting up and his back straightening up.  
  
"Morning Steve," she replied, a small smile of her own showing, as she poured herself a cup of coffee "What'd he want?"  
  
Steve shook his head "Nothing," he replied "Just making sure my intentions were in the right place,"  
  
Maria rolled her eyes "He's so overprotective," she replied as she leaned on the bench, across from him.  
  
"So, it's not just me?"  
  
"Hell no," Maria replied "He shot my last boyfriend in the leg with an arrow,"  
  
Steve winced "Ouch, what'd he do to deserve that?"  
  
"He cheated,"  
  
Steve's face softened as he replied "I'm sorry to hear that,"  
  
Maria shrugged "He was a dick anyway, I don't know why I didn't catch it sooner,"  
  
"Love'll do that to you," Steve said, taking another sip of his coffee.  
  
"Yeah, well, Clint's been doing that ever since we were in the academy," she said, shaking her head "He's like that annoyingly overprotective older brother,"  
  
Steve chuckled "I bet,"  
  
"But I'm sure you'll be fine," she assured him.  
  
"Yeah," Steve muttered "Sure,"


	12. Queen Victoria?

"We found a lead on HYDRA," said May as they all met in Coulson's office "They're back in the States, California to be exact,"  
  
"How do we know?" Lance asked "Could be a trap to get the molecular nitramine,"  
  
"We intercepted a message from HYDRA to Alkaev," Coulson said "Alkaev had plans to sell the bomb to HYDRA but then we stole it so..." Coulson pulled up another message on the screen "Alkaev's selling them the formula itself,"  
  
"You're kidding me," Trip said, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"If HYDRA get's their hands on that formula, who knows what they'll do with it!" Skye cried out "How do we stop it?"  
  
"We intercept the deal," Coulson said "Get HYDRA and Alkaev at the same time,"  
  
The team shared a look before May spoke up "We know it's risky, we could lose all three and speed up the process of whatever HYDRA's planning at the same time, but we don't really have a choice,"  
  
"Why can't we just take the formula like we did the bomb?" Daniel asked "That way HYDRA don't even have a chance to get their hands on it,"  
  
"Under other circumstances, I'd suggest that," Phil said "But we don't know where exactly Alkaev is hiding out, nor do we know where HYDRA is,"  
  
"All we have is the meet location," said May "So we need to be there beforehand,"  
  
Skye shook her head slightly "Ward and 33 both know our tactics, they'll case the place before they go in, you know that,"  
  
"That's why we're gonna be waiting on the Bus," May said "Ward and 33 will go in, then we'll follow,"  
  
"You make it sound easy," Daniel perked up.  
  
"How do you know it'll be those two?' Lance asked.  
  
"Because they screwed up last time," said Coulson "They can't afford any mistakes,"  
  
"You're forgetting..." May started "They may know how we operate, but we also know how they operate," she continued "They're unnecessarily reckless and we can use that,"  
  
Coulson nodded in agreement "However, we do have to assume that they know about Carter and Sousa, so we can't use that to our advantage,"  
  
"We'll meet on the bus in an hour, we're going to L.A."

* * *

"How you holdin' up?" Daniel asked as he sat down next to Peggy, putting his hand on her thigh. They'd just been briefed in the control room and they weren't due to land for over five hours.  
  
Peggy looked over at him as they sat on the couch of the Bus, and frowned "I'm fine, why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, all this HYDRA stuff..." he started "Must be bringin' up some pretty bad memories,"  
  
Peggy sighed slightly and gave him a small smile "Daniel..." she said softly and brought her hand up to brush her knuckles against his cheekbone, her forearm resting on his shoulder "I'm fine, honestly," she said "Needless to say it's a little odd, but these are not the same people we fought in the war," Daniel nodded and leaned into her touch on his cheek, enjoying the feeling of her light grazing "Are _you_ feeling alright?" she asked him "You were there fighting with us, too, not in the same place, but in the same war nonetheless,"  
  
Daniel smiled at her and leaned in, kissing her softly before pulling away just enough to look her in the eyes "As long as you are - I am,"  
  
"That's not an answer," she replied, moving her hand from his cheek to his hair, brushing it with her fingers "You went through a lot more than I did in that war, you lost a lot more,"  
  
Daniel sighed "That's not exactly true, is it?"  
  
"It is now," said Peggy "Steve's alive, which means I didn't lose anything - not really,"  
  
"That's a load of crap," said Daniel "These past two years have been hell on Earth for you, I've seen it," he said softly "And besides, I have an awesome robot leg now, so technically I _gained_ in the war,"  
  
"Daniel..." Peggy said, sighing "I'm being serious,"  
  
Daniel's smile faded until it was completely gone and nodded as he looked down "Okay, yeah," he said "I might not sleep very well tonight,"  
  
Peggy gave him a small understanding smile before leaning over and kissing his forehead "You won't be alone," Daniel nodded and leaned into her as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him against her. They stayed like that for a while, both eventually falling asleep in the exact same position.  
  
It wasn't until five hours later that Peggy woke up to the sound of May's voice through the intercom, telling everyone to buckle up because they were landing. Daniel wasn't so easy to wake, as he slumped against her chest, snoring softly. Peggy smiled at him before awkwardly reaching for the belt on the other side of him and strapping him in, then doing the same for herself.  
  
"Darling," she whispered down to him, brushing his hair back with her fingers and kissing his forehead "It's time to wake up,"  
  
Daniel groaned "Five more minutes," he said, nuzzling against her, making her smile with adoration.  
  
"Daniel..." she said in a quiet sing-song voice.  
  
"No..." he groaned like a child "I like it here,"  
  
Peggy chuckled before moving his head upwards and kissing him softly, finally making him move. He kissed her back softly as he sat up straighter, but still leaning on her with all his weight "Wake up, Sunshine," she whispered as she pulled back slightly, making him smile and lean forward to kiss her again.  
  
"Hey, you two love-birds," they broke out of their trance when they heard Skye's amused voice. They turned to look at her but didn't move away from one another, not really caring in that moment "Coulson wants us in the control room," she smirked, giving them both a once-over before turning on her heel and retreating.  
  
Daniel was still leaning on her when Peggy spoke again "Come on," she said and tried to move, but Daniel slouched further onto her "Daniel..." she warned him, but he just smiled at her and captured her lips once more.  
  
The kiss was brief, but sweet nonetheless, before Daniel finally stood up, holding his hands out for her to help her stand and made their way to the rest of the team.

* * *

_"Queen Victoria, you have eyes?"_  
  
"Queen Victoria? Who the bloody hell picked that name?" Peggy replied venomously "But yes, I do,"  
  
_"Hey, I picked that name,"_  
  
"Yes, well it's terrible," she replied to Coulson "Probably worse than Miss Union Jack,"  
  
_"What?"_  
  
"Never mind," she replied as she watched from her position on the roof "I see Alkaev," she said "There's three men, all armed," she peered through her binoculars as the men walked closer to the building "Pistols, looks like a .45 caliber," The men disappeared out of sight and in to the warehouse and Peggy decided to stay low and check her ICER and her back up "Queen Victoria..." she grumbled "What kind of moronic codename is that? Not to mention offensive,"  
  
_"You pick the god damn code name then,"_  
  
"How about you just stick with Carter?" she replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
_"Then it's not a codename, is it?"_  
  
_"What about Dottie?"_ she heard Daniel voice, clearly amused, and paused.  
  
"You are walking a thin line there, Agent," she replied harshly, hearing him chuckle through their comms.  
  
_"Who's Dottie?"_  
  
Skye's question went unanswered as a black SUV pulled up out the front of the warehouse and two figures stepped out.  
  
_"I have visual confirmation,"_ they heard May say darkly _"It's them,"_  
  
_"Wait until they're in,"_ said Coulson _"Then we're on,"_  
  
The duo on the ground circled the building first, checking all possible stakeout places before meeting up out the front and walking inside the warehouse "They're in," Peggy said.  
  
_"Alright, May, you're up,"_  
  
Within ten seconds, May had scaled the side of the building and was up on the roof with Peggy "Are you ready?" Peggy asked her.  
  
May scoffed as she attached the small LED light to her shoulder and night specs on her head "I've been waiting a long time for this,"  
  
"Well, be careful then," Peggy warned her as she helped clasp the rope to her hip.  
  
"You too," she replied before heading towards the small duct opening and sliding soundlessly inside.  
  
As May crawled through the air vents, she moved as soundlessly as possible, not to attract any attention to herself, which also meant keeping whatever objects that were attached to her from hitting the sides of the vents.  
  
There wasn't many rooms to the warehouse, however the vents were set in rows over the large building, which made it easier to get right above the meet. Fortunately, there was enough space for her to operate when she was supposed to make her move, but first she attached a small bug to the grate of the vent, allowing everyone to hear the deal below.  
  
"You got the formula?" Ward asked.  
  
"That depends," Alkaev replied, his Russian accent thick "You got money?"  
  
Ward handed over two silver briefcases, setting them down in front of the Russian before stepping back, allowing him to check the money. As Alkaev opened the briefcases, May could see the money.  
  
Alkaev closed them and looked over at the two standing in front of him, clearly impressed "We cool?" Ward asked.  
  
"Yes, we are cool," he replied and turned to the bodyguard behind him, who was holding another briefcase, except black leather. The man passed it over to Alkaev, who passed it to Ward.  
  
May saw Ward open the briefcase and inspect whatever was in it before passing it over to 33. By their satisfied expressions, the formula was obviously in there.  
  
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr Alkaev," said Ward, holding out his hand for the Russian to shake. As the two exchanged pleasantries, May started to remove the vent silently and unclipped the rope from her belt, attaching it to the side of the vent with a ultra-suction device Fitz invented.  
  
_'Remind me to thank the kid later.'_ she thought to herself.  
  
_"That's your cue, May,"_  
  
Suddenly, she jumped down, the roped steadying her landing as she knocked the feet out from under 33 and unclipping the rope easily, giving her room to move. Alkaev's men drew their weapons which she took out with her ICER. Ward was yet to make a move as she knocked out Alkaev, the four men laying unconscious on the ground.  
  
"May," Ward said, a grin spreading across his face "What a nice surprise,"  
  
"You did this to me," 33 sneered, gesturing to her face burn.  
  
May shrugged slightly "You did that to yourself,"  
  
33 yelled before leaping at her, throwing punches and kicks, only to be blocked over and over again. After a few moments, May realized Ward wasn't joining in, and knew he'd run off with the formula.  
  
May stopped being on the defensive and started attacking. They'd played this game before and May knew all of 33's moves. It might be a long fight, but it was going to be a fight that she won.  
  
Outside, Ward was ready for whatever Coulson was to throw at him as she made his way to the SUV, only to find that he didn't have tires at all. He paused outside his car, briefcase in hand, unsure what he was going to do next.  
  
"Ward, yes?" he heard a British accent from behind him.  
  
He spun around to see a woman that looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it "You've heard of me,"  
  
"I have, yes," she said and took a step closer "But here's the thing, I need that formula,"  
  
"S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't getting their hands on this formula," Ward replied.  
  
"I didn't say anything about S.H.I.E.L.D." she replied "You honestly have no idea who I am, do you?"  
  
"I know you're with S.H.I.E.L.D." he said and took another step closer.  
  
"My name is Peggy Carter," she informed him "And that formula should have been destroyed seventy years ago,"  
  
She watched as Ward processed the information, trying to come to terms with who she was - is. Though, in a split second, he'd dropped the briefcase and lunged at her trying to knock her out with a king hit first, though she ducked and punched him in the stomach. She spun to face him and drew her ICER, only to have it knocked out of her hands and sent flying before she was flipped to the floor.  
  
As she lay on her stomach, she managed to wrap a leg around his, using his knee to twist it and knock him off his balance. She pounced to her feet and kicked him in the face, though he wasn't knocked unconscious like the man who had attacked her on her hunt for the Zodiac.  
  
Ward managed to pounce to his feet and punch her hard in the face, knocking her to the ground. As he walked over to her to finish the job, the ground started to shake.  
  
"Ward!" his head snapped up towards Skye's voice. Her arms were at her sides but stretched out, like she was controlling the ground.  
  
"Skye?" he asked, losing his balance and crouching to the ground to steady himself. Peggy managed to drag herself away as Ward's eyes were trained on the girl in front of him "You're doing this?"  
  
Skye didn't respond as the ground began to shake harder, setting the alarm for the SUV off and the glass of the warehouse shattered. Ward stood up slowly and took a step closer to her "Do _not_ come any closer!" Skye warned him.  
  
He didn't listen, taking more steps towards her "STOP!" she screamed, but he seemed to become more stable on his feet as he picked up the pace towards her, a predatory look in his eye.  
  
But suddenly there was a loud bang and he wasn't moving towards her anymore. He wasn't moving at all. He was on the ground, a hole in the side of his head, blood pouring out the other side, creating a dark crimson pool.  
  
Then the ground stopped shaking, and Skye was looking at Peggy who had her backup firmly in her hand, her stance strong. She slowly lowered the gun and looked back over at Skye, whose eyes were wide and breath was fast.  
  
Peggy made her way over to her, holstering her gun on her thigh and stopped in front of Skye "You killed him," Skye said simply, not accusing, just stating.  
  
Peggy put her hands on the girls shoulders "My ICER jammed," she responded calmly.  
  
Skye looked at her and nodded "Thank you," she responded breathlessly, and Peggy pulled her into a hug "Thank you,"  
  
"It's okay, you're safe," said Peggy "It's over,"  
  
That's how the rest of the team found them when they came out, standing next to Grant Ward's dead body, hugging, as Melinda walked out of the warehouse, a cut on her cheekbone and a handcuffed, half-lucid 33 with her.

* * *

"Your ICER jammed, huh?" May asked Peggy after they'd been debriefed and everyone had left the control room.  
  
"Yes, that seemed to be the case," Peggy replied casually.  
  
May smirked slightly before responding "Fitz designed them himself," she said "They don't jam,"  
  
Peggy shrugged "I guess this one did,"  
  
May knew exactly why she told Skye it jammed. Because although Skye might talk a big talk, she's only ever killed one person; Donnie Gill. And that death haunts her every day. Yes, May and Peggy both knew Skye wanted Ward dead, but not at the hands of her own. If she wanted to kill him herself, she would have done it the first time.  
  
"Thank you," May said quietly "For doing that for her,"  
  
Peggy gave her a reassuring smile "Of course," she replied, and May gave her one last grateful smile before retreating "You know..." Peggy stopped her at the door "She's lucky to have you," she said "Skye's parents might be a little...insane, but you and Coulson make the balance,"  
  
May paused, taking in her words before nodding "Maybe," she replied "But having you around won't hurt either..." she said "It didn't hurt me,"  
  
And with that, she was gone, leaving Peggy to her thoughts in the control room.  
  
A pair of arms wrapping around her waist from behind would normally make her jump, but the calloused hands and the familiar scent made her smile softly and lean back into him.  
  
"You're an incredible person, you know that?" Daniel asked her, nuzzling her neck.  
  
"I do try," she joked, making him chuckle slightly.  
  
"I'm serious," he said, looking at her "What you did for Skye..."  
  
"...is what anyone would do for the people they care about," Peggy finished for him, turning in his arms and wrapping her own around his waist "I did what I thought was right,"  
  
"And it was," said Daniel "He wasn't gonna stop coming at her, I saw it from here,"  
  
Peggy gave him a grateful smile before leaning down against his chest as he pulled her into a secure embrace, his chin resting on the top of her head.

* * *

Peggy found Skye in her old bunk two hours later. Knowing the girl needed some space for a while, she left it until now.  
  
"May I come in?" Peggy asked her, looking at the girl who had her knees up to her chest. Skye nodded and moved over so she could sit on the edge of the bed "How are you holding up?"  
  
"Okay, I guess," said Skye, shrugging as she sighed "I wanted him to die, I wanted him dead, I guess I just wasn't ready for it,"  
  
Peggy looked at her a moment before replying "I have some experience with that myself, mind you the guy was trying to save the world, not destroy it," she replied, making Skye chuckle.  
  
"That helps actually," she replied "Ward was a monster, but I was the one who wanted him dead, I turned into the monster,"  
  
"That is not true and you know it," Peggy said firmly "You saved my life," she said, reaching over and grabbing her hand softly "Does that sound like something a monster would do?"  
  
"No," Skye replied quietly "But can a human being start earthquakes?"  
  
"Everyone has their talents," Skye let out a bark of laughter at that and Peggy smiled "Skye, you may be unique, you may be powerful, and in some cases you may even be dangerous," she started "But you can turn that danger - that power - into good, you can control it and you can manipulate it,"  
  
"I don't think I can," said Skye quietly.  
  
"You already have," Peggy replied "You did it when you were trying to get Ward away from me and you did it when everything was over," Skye looked up at her as she continued "Skye, you are greatly underestimating yourself, and from what May has told me about your training...you have no need to," Skye nodded and fell into Peggy's embrace "You don't need to be scared, because you're already great," Peggy whispered into her ear and she held the girl tight.  
  
"Thank you," Skye replied quietly "For everything,"  
  
"Anytime."

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on AO3 so let me know what you think.


End file.
